Promise me
by KonekoChan11
Summary: (AU) InuXLove hina (at start). Inu makes a promise with Kag and then he moves away. when Kagome finds him, he has not only forgotten the promise, but her too! Wat wil she do?(a bit of Jap involved)
1. Promise

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or anything to do with it (-_- |||)  
  
Um . . . . . . . lol this is kind of like a Love Hina-based Inuyasha ~ Inu and Kag make a promise to marry each other when they grow up, but Inuyasha moves away soon after. Unfortunately, Inuyasha forgets about the promise and when Kag finds him, he has a girlfriend! (^^') I won't say anymore here you'll have to read it! ^.~  
  
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A chibi Inuyasha and Kagome ran around the Higurashi shine, playing tag. Kagome was wearing a light blue t-shirt and black skirt, while Inuyasha looked very cute in a red t-shirt and shorts, complimented with a black bandanna tied to his head. Kagome had her long raven-black hair tied up in a braid, which was loosened as she ran around. Inuyasha was "it" and was trying to tag Kagome, but Kagome was just laughing and running away from him.  
  
"Kagomeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!! You're so unfair!!!" wailed Inuyasha, "You're too fast!! Kame-chan!!!"  
  
"Heeheehee!! What happened to Mr. I'm-so-great-at-tag-I-can-beat-anyone? Eh Inu-chan? Eh?" teased Kagome. Inuyasha growled and charged. He hated being called Inu-chan! Squealing, Kagome bolted into what she thought was a garden shed nearby.  
  
"I've got you now Higurashi!!!" Inuyasha snarled and followed her into the shed.  
  
He flung open the door of the shed and peered inside. A creepy inky blackness stared back at him. Squinting into the dark, he cautiously tiptoed in.  
  
"Kame-chan?" he said, called Kagome by his nickname for her, "Kame-chan, I know you're in here!"  
  
Silence. No body replied.  
  
Inuyasha started to panic. Where was she? Had he lost her? Did Kagome die? What if Kagome, who had been running away from him, ran in here, tripped over and split her head open?! Tears welled up in his big amber eyes. Running around in the darkness, he bumped into something. It was made of wood and had a big hole in the middle. It was the well!! This wasn't a shed! It was the shrine!! Kagome's grandfather had warned them not to come in here. He said it was really really dangerous. He said that evil youkai (demons) and oni (ogres) came out of the well sometimes.  
  
~Omigod!~ thought Inuyasha. ~What if Kagome had fallen in?~ Inuyasha began to cry. He didn't care that he was a boy, and that he wasn't supposed to cry. His best friend was gone!!!  
  
"K-Ka-Kame-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannn!!!" he sobbed.  
  
"Inu-chan?"  
  
~Jeez, I must be going insane! I can still hear her voice . . . . . .~ Inuyasha sighed.  
  
"Inu-chan!!! Help!" cried Kagome's voice. "I'm down here!!"  
  
"Kagome? Where?" Inuyasha glanced wildly around.  
  
"In the well you baka!"  
  
Inuyasha scrabbled around until he found a flashlight. Shining it down the abyss that was the well, he saw Kagome, alive, with a scowl on her face. He sighed happily with relief. She wasn't dead!  
  
"Well!!??! What are you waiting for??!? GET ME OUT!!!" bellowed Kagome. Instantly Inuyasha leapt down into the well, grabbed Kagome around the waist and jumped back out. Kagome was stunned.  
  
"H-H-How did you do that?" she ogled at Inuyasha, wondering how on earth he could jump so high.  
  
"Ano? What did I do?" he blinked at her, nonplussed.  
  
"How did you jump out of the well like that?! In one jump?" Inuyasha couldn't tell whether it was astonishment or fear in her voice. He sighed.  
  
"Kame-chan. . . . . . . . . . . . There's something I haven't told you about me. . . . . . . "  
  
"Nani?"  
  
Inuyasha reached behind his head and untied the black bandanna he had on. As it fell to the ground, Kagome gasped.  
  
"Inu-chan. . . . . . . . . . you're. . . . you're a hanyou!!!" she stared rather rudely at the pair of dog ears poking out from under his silvery hair.  
  
"Hai," He replied sadly, "When my Okaa-san told your Okaa-san what I was, she wasn't sure if it was ok to let us play together, but my okaa-san said it was alright, and that I wouldn't hurt you," He looked away, saddened by a thought. "But I guess you wouldn't want to play with a half-youkai like me. . . . . ."  
  
"Chigou, Inu-chan."  
  
Inuyasha looked at Kagome. Her eyes were full of kindness, and she was smiling at him. Blushing, he looked away again. "Why?"  
  
"Because, well, I've been playin with you for almost all my life haven't I? If you wanted to hurt me you would have done it by now. But you haven't!"  
  
Inuyasha looked up at his best friend. Suddenly the lamps flickered on inside the shrine. They stood there for a while, just looking at each other.  
  
"Arigato gozaimasu, Kame-chan."  
  
Kagome giggled. Inuyasha never used the polite terms when talking to anyone except for his Okaa-san and Otou-sama.  
  
"Ne, Inuyasha." Said Kagome, looking at the well, "Can you promise me something?"  
  
"Nani?"  
  
"Promise me you'll marry me when we're older," said Kagome, looking back to him.  
  
Inuyasha looked at her for a while, head cocked to one side, as if to say, 'Are you joking?', but Kagome just looked at him, her face set. He smiled.  
  
"Alright. I promise."  
  
Kagome reached into her pocket and pulled out a coin. Holding onto one edge of the coin, she offered the other side to Inuyasha. He held it with her.  
  
"We promise." They said in unison and tossed the coin into the well.  
  
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Ok that's chapter 1! I know it's a bit long but hey! Its only the beginning! R&R!! 


	2. Inuyasha: Forgetting the Past

Heya ppls! Konekochan here, ready with Chappie 2 of my 2nd fanfic!! Heehee lol I kno I kno. . . . . . . . . . . I neva did finish my other one but I'm trying my best to write some everyday of this one! Enjoy!  
  
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A silver-haired teenage boy looked out the window of his 3rd story bedroom and sighed. ~Kagome. . . you didn't come to see me, did you?~ he thought, sighing again with renewed sadness, ~The day I left. . . . you didn't even come to say goodbye. . . ~  
  
"Inuyasha-oniisan!" called a voice. Inuyasha turned to the door of his room to see it burst open. It was Rin, his adopted little sister. "Otou-sama and Okaa-sama say to come down and have lunch, okay?"  
  
"Hai." He answered stiffly. Rin wasn't exactly his favourite family member. Rin, sensing that Inuyasha felt a little uncomfortable, bowed to him and backed out from the room, closing it with a snap behind her.  
  
Inuyasha looked at the back of the closed door. Why did he dislike Rin anyway? The more he thought about it the more he realised he didn't really have a reason to hate her. Deciding he'd think about it later, Inuyasha looked back out the window, watching the world go by.  
  
"INUYASHA!!! GET DOWN HERE NOW!!!" thundered a voice below. Inuyasha looked down. Sesshoumaru had poked his head out of the dining room window downstairs, and was yelling at Inuyasha. With his super-human ears he heard his Okaa-san telling Sesshoumaru to stop yelling at Inuyasha and eat his food. With a final glare to his ungrateful little brother, Sesshoumaru pulled his head back.  
  
"Feh. Serves him right for yelling at me in the first place," grumbled the now annoyed hanyou. Although he looked infuriated on the outside, something a lot gentler was stirring his heart. ~Kagome. . . . ~ sighing again, he crossed his simple yet somewhat elegant room and collapsed into his four- poster bed. He would eat later. ~Where are you now, Kame-chan?~  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*Flashback*^~*^~*^~*^~  
  
"Inuyasha-kun, come on, we have to go now," said Inuyasha's Okaa-san, gently tugging on her son's arm. He had been waiting all day for his friend Kagome, but she hadn't shown up yet.  
  
"Just a few more minutes! I know she'll come!!" he begged.  
  
Sesshoumaru looked over at his half-breed brother. ~How pitiful~ he scoffed and climbed into the black Mercedes parked near the house.  
  
"Inuyasha!" barked his Otou-san, "We're going!"  
  
"Inuyasha, sweetie, we have to go," his Okaa-san repeated and pulled Inuyasha towards the car. Inuyasha looked over in the direction of Kagome's house, both saddened and angry that she didn't show up. Full of such confusing emotions, he stepped into the car.  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*End Flashback*^~*^~*^~*^~  
  
Inuyasha shook his head in order to dispel the memory he had tried to suppress for 10 years. Scowling, he got up and sat at his study desk, opened one of his textbooks and began to study. ~May as well do something to take my mind off Kago- I mean, I should study because my tests are coming up soon. . . . ~  
  
A few minutes later he heard the unmistakeable steady thudding of his brother Sesshoumaru walking up the stairs, with lighter feet following him. ~Rin~ he thought. By the way the sound stopped abruptly. Inuyasha guessed they had stopped outside his room.  
  
"Nani?" he asked of them.  
  
"Okaa-sama says we will be transferring to a new school," replied the Sesshoumaru's deep growl through the door, "She says Otou-sama can't afford our school fees anymore."  
  
"Hai," he acknowledged.  
  
"Sesshou-oniichan?" piped up little Rin, "Will Ri- I mean, will 'I' have to go to the same school as you?"  
  
"Not yet, Rin. You'll have to wait another few years for that."  
  
The low thuds resumed, and Inuyasha turned back to his books. "Damn. All this study would have been for nothing."  
  
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Ok! That's Chapter 2 for you! R+R! 


	3. Kagome: New revelation

HELO!!! Omg I am so HAPPY -^.^- thank u to all the ppl who reviewed and even more thanks to the ppl who read it! (review ppl. . . . that's what the little button up there is for.. . . . .) Neway heres the next part in my 2nd fanfic! ^.~ Enjoy!  
  
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The low rumble of a car could be heard as Kagome Higurashi ran as fast as she could towards her best friends house. He was moving away today and Kagome promised she would come to say goodbye, but Kagome accidentally slept in and had rushed to get out of the house. Worry coursed through her veins as she realised she might not be able to make it. With renewed strength she powered up the hill that had Inuyasha's house atop its peak.  
  
"Inuyasha!!" she yelled, "Matte (wait)!!!"  
  
As she got to the top of the hill, exhausted, she realised that no one was there. Tears burred her vision as she looked around desperately, searching for her Inu-chan. Looking down the street, she saw a black Mercedes driving off.  
  
"INUYASHA!!!" she shouted, sadness, despair and sorry welling up inside her. Defeated, she slumped down to her knees and began to cry. ~Inu-chan . . . . . Gomen nasai . . . Gomen Nasai . . . ~ she said in her mind.  
  
"Gomen nasai . . ." she whispered to the wind. Looking back at the black box that was taking her best friend away, she saw Inuyasha's face looking back at her through the back windshield, wide-eyed. His amber eyes then filled with betrayal . . . shaking his head at her, Inuyasha sat back down in the car, so he could no longer see the face of his so-called "best friend".  
  
"Miss Higurashi!"  
  
Kagome frowned. ~What?~  
  
"Miss Higurashi!!!"  
  
~Who is that?~  
  
"Kagome Higurashi!!!!!"  
  
Kagome's head snapped up. ~A dream?~ Yawning loudly, she turned towards where the voice had come from.  
  
"Naaa-" Kagome stopped halfway through saying 'nani' when she saw her teacher, Mr. Aoki, peering down at her angrily. ~Oh my GOD! Did I just fall asleep during class?!!?~  
  
"Miss Higurashi," he began coldly, "Go stand outside in the hall and think about what you have done. Not only have you stopped the entire class from learning, but you have also disrupted me. And as you would know, I do not like to be disturbed while teaching. GO!"  
  
Kagome, blushing out of embarrassment, stood up silently and stacked her books in a neat pile on her desk. She bowed to the teacher and obediently walked towards the door, wishing she could disappear.  
  
But as she passed the threshold of the door she felt someone looking at her. Flicking her eyes towards the back of the room for a split second, she caught a glimpse of a boy sitting in the back row staring at her with a smirk on his face before leaving the room.  
  
Sighing, she leant on the windowsill that was outside the room. All around her life was continuing; the drone of a teacher in a classroom, the occasional voice of a student asked to talk, the buzz of a bee outside and the brush of warm air that cleansed her face as it washed past. Smiling, she calmed down from her previously embarrassed and annoyed state. Then something popped into her mind.  
  
~Who was that boy?~ she wondered, ~Why was he staring at me?~ Kagome tried to remember who it was. Even though he was in her class, she didn't really know him. Besides, she never associated with the "back row" boys. They were the ones who had bad attitudes, bad hairstyles and bitchy girlfriends. Not mentioning that they were the dumbest teenagers in the whole grade. ~What was his name again? Kou. . . . Kou. . . Kouma? Kougra? Wait, no, Kouga! Yeah, he's the one. Kouga. But . . . . . Why was he staring at me?~  
  
Kagome shook her head. She didn't need this sort of thing. Exams were coming up soon and a boyfriend would only get in the way. Hojo-kun was bad enough, let alone having a "back row" jerk like Kouga asking her out.  
  
~But what about Inuyasha?~ asked a voice in her head.  
  
~Inuyasha. . . . he hates me now! I could tell by the way he looked at me that day.~ she told the voice.  
  
~Ahh, but you don't hate him do you?~  
  
~O-Of course not!~  
  
~You used to like him, didn't you? That's why you made that promise with him, wasn't it?~  
  
~Yeah, well, I don't know!~  
  
~heh heh. . . maybe it's time you sorted out your feelings before something bad happens.~  
  
The voice went away, leaving Kagome to wallow in her confused thoughts.  
  
_~*Rrrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggggggggggggg!!!*^_  
  
Kagome jumped as she heard the school bell ring. Quickly, she jumped inside the classroom and ran to her desk. One of her friends passed her a note. Puzzled, Kagome opened it.  
  
Meet me at the running track this afternoon -K  
  
Kagome looked on the other side of the note in case there was anything else it said, but no, it just said that. She looked around the classroom and saw Kouga staring at her again, that same superior smirk on his face. A boy sitting next to him whispered something to him and Kouga whacked him on the head with a textbook. Kagome giggled. Kouga, seeing this, blushed a little but still had that smirk glued to his face.  
  
"Kagome-chan!" gasped Aika, one of Kagome's friends, "Is there something between you and Kouga?!"  
  
"N-n-n-n-n-nani?!!? Chigou!!!" said Kagome.  
  
"Aaaaiiiii. . . . . don't lie Kagome-chan! I saw the way you were looking at him!!" grinned Aika.  
  
"Chigou! Chigou chigou chigou chigou chigou chigoooooooooou!!!" Kagome shook her head from side to side as she said it, just to get the message clear.  
  
"Everybody!! Could I please have you attention!" said the teacher, who had just walked in. Kagome and Aika immediately silenced. "We have a new student who will be joining this class for the remainder of the year. There was no use in putting him in his rightful grade, seeing as exams are coming up soon, so he will just be in this class for the while. Next year he will be boosted a grade so that he can start in his proper year level."  
  
A tall boy with long silver hair and golden amber eyes walked into the room. He wore the black school uniform quite formally, and with a sort of dignified pride you would not normally find in a person new to a school. He gave you the impression that he did not want to be here, and was not here by choice. Kagome was stunned.  
  
"Inuyasha?!"  
  
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Ok! I know this one is really really long, but trust me I think this one is the longest one I'lll ever write! ^^' ok.. U kno wat to do ppl! R&R! 


	4. I am NOT Inuyasha

IK4  
  
Helo!!!! Sori I didn't update yesterday. . .. . . . . . I was out and I came home at like.. 10. . . . . and I had just started on this chapter. .. .. . . . . so yea I'll update 2 times today ( just coz I'm nice^.~) this one is reali reali long. . . . so I suggest getting a drink or sumthin b4 u start reading. =P  
  
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Sesshoumaru sighed. He was going to be placed in a lower class than what he was supposed to be in, all because the exams were coming up soon. He knew all the work, but his father had decided it would be better for him this way.  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*Flashback - the night before*^~*^~*^~*^~  
  
"Otou-sama!" Sesshoumaru slammed his fist on the table angrily, making both Rin and the cutlery jump, "This is an outrage! I will NOT be put down a grade!"  
  
"Sesshoumaru," said his father coolly, "What if they teach differently from Takedai High School? You won't be prepared for the exam, and in result you might not pass."  
  
"But Otou-sama!" protested Sesshoumaru, "I know the Board of Education has set a curriculum for each year level that is the same with every school in this province!"  
  
"That is ENOUGH Sesshoumaru!" his father didn't exactly yell, but the icy cruelty in his voice said, 'Do not argue with me, unless you wish to be dismissed from our family'. Sesshoumaru, beaten, stalked across the room towards the stairway. As he climbed towards the calm stillness of his room, Sesshoumaru eyes flickered, for the briefest moment, to a deep blood- lusting red.  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*End Flashback*^~*^~*^~*^~  
  
Suddenly he was snapped out of his dreamy, trance-like state by a little girl's voice. Sighing, he watched the door as Rin burst through it.  
  
"Ohayo Sesshoumaru-sama!!" said Rin, "Otou-sama says to get ready for school!"  
  
Muttering bitterly about how his father was so unfair, letting Inuyasha start school a few days later than him, and even though Sesshoumaru had asked why, his father hadn't given him a reason. Sesshoumaru suddenly stopped and took a few deep breaths. He needed to be in a good mood if he was going to go to a school filled with 'Humans". His previous school, Takedai High, was an exclusive school created for youkai and hanyou alike. Set deep in the mountains, no human was ever allowed within 5 miles of the school.  
  
About 15 minutes later Sesshoumaru was ready to go. He picked up his bag beside the door and as he left called out "Itekimasu" to no one in particular. Rin, being the sweet little angel she was, ran to the door to see him off.  
  
"Ja ne, Sesshoumaru-sama!!" she called to him. Sesshoumaru simply lifted his hand to show he had heard, but never once turned around or stopped.  
  
"Feh," scoffed Inuyasha, who was upstairs in his bedroom again, watching his brother leave, "Rin! Come inside already."  
  
"Hai, Inuyasha-sama!" Rin chirped and skipped into the room.  
  
Sesshoumaru emptied his mind as he made his way to his new school. As he passed the gates, he read the golden plaque, emblazoned with the words "Aoi no Hana (blue flower) High School". Sesshoumaru, who was rather disgusted by such a name, forced his eyes away from the square, although he knew he would have to face it every school day from now on. [AN: I couldnt think of anything else as a hi skool name =P]  
  
After many fruitless searches, Sesshoumaru eventually found the main office. While the secretary was preparing his timetable and other necessities, a muscular sort of man approached him and began talking to him.  
  
"Ah, so you're the infamous Marekete Sesshoumaru, ne?" said the man, "I heard your half-brother is quite the sportsman! Speaking of which," the man looked around, "Where is he? I thought he was starting today."  
  
"Before I respond to your request, I would like to know what business you have talking to me," Sesshoumaru's voice came out like ice.  
  
"A-a-a-ano. . . . . " Frightened, the man began to stutter uncontrollably. "Forg-g-give me, h-h-how rude of me! I am Mitsuk- uh, Marekete-san?"  
  
Sesshoumaru, who had decided that this petty human was not worth his time, simply collected his stuff from the secretary and had left. ~Pitiful humans~ he thought to himself, ~leave me alone, and I won't have to kill you all.~  
  
But little did he know that soon a certain "pitiful human" about to steal mind, heart and soul.  
  
He made it to his classroom near the end of second period. As he waited for the teacher to arrive, he listened with his youkai hearing to the scattered conversations inside. 'Ehhh?! . . . . naaani. . . . .chigou!!!. . . . . .between you and Kouga?!. . . . '. Sesshoumaru stopped listening. These conversations were so immature! Finally, the teacher, Mr. Aoki, arrived to show him in and introduce him to the class.  
  
"Minna!! Could I please have you attention!" said the teacher; "We have a new student who will be joining this class for the remainder of the year. There was no use in putting him in his rightful grade, seeing as exams are coming up soon, so he will just be in this class for the while. Next year he will be boosted a grade so that he can start in his proper year level."  
  
"Minnasan, Ohayo gozaimasu," he greeted the class formally and was told where to sit. But as he took his first step towards his desk, Sesshoumaru heard something that made a wave of anger surge through his blood.  
  
"Inuyasha?!"  
  
Sesshoumaru flicked his eyes up to where the voice had come from. A black- haired girl with stormy grey-blue eyes was staring at him as though she had never seen a boy in her life. She was quite pretty, but she was human. Sesshoumaru would not fall for a human. Unlike his stupid brother, who fell for a worthless wench called Kikyo.  
  
But it pissed him off so much! A girl, a human girl, a human girl who he had never seen in his life, THIS girl, had called him by his retched hanyou brother's name! ~How DARE she!~ Sesshoumaru glared at her, his eyes full of a cold sort of malice. Taking a deep breath, she said to her-  
  
"I am NOT Inuyasha."  
  
Keeping with voice free from any emotion but hate, he walked off to his assigned desk, a fury-powered aura emanating from him with each step. One of Kagome's close friends, Eri, was about to as her about Sesshoumaru, but Mr. Aoki had begun the class already.  
  
Slowly, arduously, -torturously-, the day dragged on. But as long as the day seemed, Sesshoumaru couldn't help but stare at the girl who had called him Inuyasha. How did she know him? Sesshoumaru had been put a few seats behind her in the next column of desks, next to Aika, the girl who had thought something was going on between Kagome and Kouga. Kagome entranced Sesshoumaru. He couldn't stop staring at her. Did she not know of the power that he possessed? Could she not feel his youki? Even when he had glared at her, wishing for her death, that innocent look of shock and surprise did not leave her face. How could she not be scared?! Shaking his head, Sesshoumaru pushed it all out of his mind. Why should he care about a human?  
  
In what seemed like a decade, the final bell rang to dismiss the students. A few cheers rang through the air as everyone struggled to get out of their classrooms. Kagome wanted to get a bit of archery practice in before she went to meet Kouga at the running track. So, instead of heading out the front door like everyone else, she ran out the back entrance to the school, which only a few people knew about.  
  
Kagome reached for the handle when suddenly it opened, making her stumble. She gave a small yelp as she fell, and not wanting to fall on her face, stuck her hand out in front of her, but someone caught her before she hit the ground.  
  
"Higurashi?" It was Hojo-kun.  
  
"Ah. . . ." Kagome blushed and took a step back from Hojo. "Arigato, Hojo- kun, but I have to get to archery practice. Sumimasen."  
  
With that, she gently moved Hojo from her way and ran to the archery range. Hoping that there would be a spare bow and arrow left for her, Kagome dashed through the door, pausing only to remove her shoes and place them just inside the door.  
  
Somehow, the peaceful serenity of the range always managed to calm Kagome, kept her spirit pure. Sighing happily, she picked up a bow from the storeroom and began to shoot. Swiftly she strung her first arrow and, after a quick glance at the target, let it fly. Without bothering to look at where it had landed she picked up her second arrow, prepared the shot and let go. The second arrow shot towards the target with incredible speed. Not to Kagome's surprise it split through her first arrow's dead centre. Getting a little more confident, Kagome flicked up her third arrow with her foot and shut her eyes as she took her third shot. When she let it go, she waited a little bit for it to reach the target. But Kagome didn't hear the arrow hit the board. The silence grew longer as Kagome thought ~I missed it completely. . .~. Kagome opened her eyes and gasped.  
  
Sessshoumaru, the boy she had called Inuyasha before, was standing right in front of her. Looking down, she saw he had her arrow. Kagome went for it, but Sesshoumaru pulled it out of her reach.  
  
Without warning, Sesshoumaru grabbed Kagome by the neck and pinned her to the wall. (AN: plz don't kill me all u kag fans. . .) Kagome screamed as best she could, what with nearly being choked to death by this INSANE boy, but all that came out was a loud squeak. Knowing now that her voice wouldn't do any good, Kagome struggled like there was no tomorrow. Tightening his grip on her, Sesshoumaru brought his face up to Kagome's, growling, warning her without words that if she tried to get away he would kill her. Kagome stilled, her lungs screaming for air.  
  
"Wench! How do you know my brother?" Sesshoumaru snarled.  
  
Kagome felt everything dulling . . . . going ever so blurry. . . . suddenly dizziness took over her mind; she couldn't take it any more. With a last look into those cold amber eyes, she fainted.  
  
Sesshoumaru looked at the human. She had fallen extremely limp in his hand.  
  
"Oi! Wench!" he half-yelled at her. Sesshoumaru loosened his grip on her, but still she didn't stir.  
  
"Kagome!!!!!!!!!"  
  
Sesshoumaru glanced towards the Archery range door as it burst open. There, a wolf-youkai stood, his eyes full of worry. But at the sight of Sesshoumaru standing over Kagome's dead (or so he thought) body, those blue eyes of his turned from worry to an accusing loathe.  
  
"You!" Kouga spat, "how DARE you touch MY Kagome!! And yes, I know you're a youkai, but I also know I'm stronger than you!"  
  
Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes. This youkai had been in hiding for a long time, and his powers deteriorated by lack of use. Sesshoumaru "hmph"ed and looked at the youkai with increasing disgust.  
  
"Well at least I'm not the one who hides from pathetic humans like you do, Wolf." He replied, making Kouga's hackles raise into a growl, "I guess that shows which of us is the true youkai."  
  
"Shut up! I suppress my powers for the good of the youkai race! If Humans were to find out about us, imagine the discrimination we would get, just because of something like this!" Kouga pointed angrily to Kagome, who was lying helplessly on the floor.  
  
"Wolf, are you telling me you actually CARE about this wretched beast?!"  
  
Kouga snapped. He couldn't take it anymore. This . . . .this THING, who was new to the school, who knew NOTHING of the social powers he had, was insulting not only him, but his dear Kagome as well!  
  
"DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Kouga attacked Sesshoumaru with all his might. Sesshoumaru laughed.  
  
"You honestly think you can even lay a single claw on me, pup?"  
  
Kouga's feet and fists flew in a flurry, powered by his fury, not noticing Kagome's slender and fragile frame rising from the floor.  
  
Kagome's mind slowly returned back into gear as air entered her lungs again. She could just she the fuzzy outlines two people fighting. One looked oddly familiar, while the other somehow sent chills through her blood. Her mind was swimming in what felt like a dense fog. Groaning, Kagome lifted herself off the floor and rubbed her eyes. When she saw who was fighting, Kagome immediately moved as far as she could from the arena. Kouga and Sesshoumaru!! But even though she wouldn't have minded if either of them got beaten, she couldn't help but try and stop it.  
  
"Kouga!!!" she yelled, even though her throat was burning. "KOUGA! STOP!"  
  
Kouga, who had his foot a few inches from Sesshoumaru's head, looked up to see Kagome~ ALIVE!! He ran to her side and lifted her up in his arms.  
  
"Kagome my love!" Kouga cooed, "You're safe!" then turning to Sesshoumaru, said "Oi. . . you're lucky she's not hurt. Lay another finger on her and you die, got it?!"  
  
Kouga secured his grip on Kagome and ran towards the school, leaving Sesshoumaru in the half-demolished Archery Range. Smirking, Sesshoumaru wondered whether that girl was really all that she seemed. ~She might be a very cleverly disguised youkai, what with her power. I mean,~ Sesshoumaru watched as the wolf left with the so called 'Kagome', ~Who else in the right mind would try to stop two full-blood youkais mid-fight?~ He decided that this girl, Kagome, would be a very interesting human to choose as a mate.  
  
"So I have said, so shall it be done." He smiled, beginning his journey home.  
  
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OK! So that's chap 4 for y'all! I'll be here with another chapter tomorrow!~ phew. . kinda tired now.. 


	5. Why me!

IK5  
  
Helllllllllo elo elo! Koneko here, reposting for duty with yet another chapter of my fanfic!! Thanx 2 all the ppl who hav sent me reviews; u'v given me so much support! ^^ And I'm not telling u ppl hu gets Kagome . . . it's a secret! (just thinks of Sesshoumaru as Kentaro) Oh and I might only be able to update every 2 days now . . . . . . coz as u may hav noticed my chaps r getting considerably longer . . . so yea, Lol keep reading! R&R!  
  
(AN: some of the characters may be slightly [more like totally] exaggerated)  
  
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A few days after Sesshoumaru started, Inuyasha thought he had had enough time away from school so that morning he packed his bag and left, about 15 minutes before he knew Sesshoumaru was going to leave. To make sure that he wouldn't get caught out as a Hanyou, Inuyasha tied a red bandanna to his head  
  
"Rin-chan!" he called, "Tell Okaa-sama I'm going to school!"  
  
"Hai! Ja ne, Inu-oniichan!" she called back to him, "Be careful!"  
  
"Ja ne!" he waved merrily to his little sister and without a moment's hesitation, turned towards the school and leapt into the air. He would take one leap, just to get him started, then he would walk the rest of the way. He may be part human, but Inuyasha knew how to get the best of his Youkai abilities too.  
  
Inuyasha smiled when he felt the morning air sweep past his face as he sailed through the air. He gave a small "ha!" of freedom as he spread his arms out like a bird, loving the sense of openness one could only feel when flying.  
  
But so it was with a heavy heart that Inuyasha gave in to gravity and landed with a soft 'thud' on the ground a few kilometres away from the school. He had always loved to jump that high. As he walked, Inuyasha closed his eyes and tried to recall that feeling of total bliss that he got when he reached the highest point of his jump; that was what he lived for. But on the ground, Inuyasha felt somewhat empty, and as the days grew in number when he could not jump, his thirst for that feeling became almost insatiable. Still, there was one thing he did love better than flying.  
  
Kikyo.  
  
Kikyo had been the first girl in Inuyasha's life that he could remember. He didn't know exactly how, but her face so familiar and comforting to him, and yet every time he looked at her, he felt as if there was something missing, something he'd forgotten. It nagged at the back of his mind for hours on end, what it was that he didn't remember. Once, he sat for hours just thinking, until he finally remembered one name; Kagome. He couldn't recall a face; that would be too hard. His mind would explode if he tried to remember any more than that name.  
  
It was then that Inuyasha realised that he had walked past his new school. Sighing about Kikyo, who he had to leave at Takedai, he walked through the black steel gates positioned at the front of the school. The school plaque, "Aoi no Hana High School", glittered proudly at him as he passed.  
  
The place was huge. Bigger than he'd thought. But then again, it was nothing compared to Takedai. So, not wanting to go on fruitless searches, he asked the nearest person where he could find the office. He saw a cute sort of black haired girl talking to a blue-eyed boy. Inuyasha, though ridiculously insensitive, could see that the girl did not want to talk to this boy, and was only doing so out of friendly politeness. He walked up to them.  
  
"Excuse me," he said to the girl, choosing to be polite instead of rough just to spite the blue-eyed guy, "Can you tell me where I could find the main office? "  
  
He felt the intense stare of th boy nest to him, telling him clearly to BACK OFF. But Inuyasha just simply smiled politely with a questioning look.  
  
The girl, instead of telling him where to go, began to stare at him. Inuyasha felt very uncomfortable under this girl's stare. Then it hit him. His ears must be showing! Brushing back his fringe that poked out from under the bandanna, he checked if his ears were being covered. They were. Inuyasha took a step back, thinking he might be invading her personal space. The girl continued to stare.  
  
Now she was getting on Inuyasha's nerves . . . if she didn't want to answer the question, she could have just kept on talking to the boy instead of ogling at him. The boy cleared his throat and pushed Inuyasha aside, resuming his talk with the girl. Inuyasha started walking away, avoiding glances from passer-by, when suddenly he heard it.  
  
"Inu . . . chan?"  
  
~Inu. . . . chan. . . . . . ?~ he wondered. ~why does that sound so familiar? And why. . .~ The hanyou's heart began to beat faster and faster. ~why do I feel like this?~ Inuyasha spun around and saw the black-haired girl was still staring at him.  
  
"What did you just call me?" he queried.  
  
"Eh. . ." Kagome wasn't sure whether to tell this boy what she had called him. She had learnt the hard way via Sesshoumaru. "D-d-don't worry about it. It's nothing."  
  
Suddenly Inuyasha's mind was swimming in memories. Memories he thought he lost ages ago. Memories of . . .of. . . of. . .  
  
"Kame-chan. . ." Inuyasha remembered one name, and that was it. That girl saying his childhood nickname had been the key in unlocking his long-lost memories of long ago. The memories that surrounded the one recollection he had of a girl called Kagome. Finding strength in his thoughts, he repeated the name that had come to him.  
  
"Kame-chan! Is that you?!" Inuyasha grinned from ear to ear. Kagome's face changed from an astonished stare to a relieved smile.  
  
"Inuyasha!!!" she ran from Kouga to Inuyasha, wrapping his arms around his neck and hugging him tightly. Blushing, and with some awkward glances from all around the hall, Inuyasha put his arms around Kagome, sealing the embrace.  
  
Snarling like a rabid wolf, Kouga grabbed Kagome's shoulders and yanked her free of Inuyasha's arms. He then stepped in front of Kagome, teeth bared, growling at the half-human dominantly.  
  
"If you EVER touch my Kagome AGAIN, I SWEAR on my pride I'll rip out your insides and feed them to the wild cats!!!" he roared. He turned to face the entire hallway and yelled, "And that goes for any other of you bastards who want my girl!!"  
  
But while Kouga was announcing his sovereignty over Kagome, Kagome and Inuyasha had left to go get Inuyasha's school things. Talking as they went. One of Kouga's friends tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to them.  
  
"So are you actually together with that guy?"  
  
"Um. . . . Not really. . . he's sweet, but he's just a little too over- protective, you know?"  
  
"Ah, I see I see. . . "  
  
"How about you?  
  
"Oh, Me? I had someone, but I had to leave her at my old school. She wanted to come to this school with me, but her parent wouldn't let her."  
  
"Parent? Only one?"  
  
"Yeah. Her parent separated a few years back, and she decided to stay with her father. I still love her though."  
  
"OI! Inukkoro!!" Kouga snatched Kagome from Inuyasha again, then with deadly calm in his voice, said "Don't touch my woman."  
  
"Oi! She's MY friend too you know! Stop treating her like a caged animal!" Inuyasha retorted, "Feh. This is amusing. A Wolf-youkai who is overly possessive of a human!!"  
  
Kouga paled. He grabbed Inuyasha and pulled him into a corner, grumbling words that only youkai could hear. Kagome, on the other hand, was thinking about what Inuyasha had said before. ~'I still love her though . . . ' what does he mean by that? Has he forgotten about our promise? Did he . . . forget about me? No, he called me Kame-chan. Only Inuyasha would know that name.~  
  
"Don't ever say the word 'youkai' around here. . . it could get us killed," but then he turned back to Kagome, clasping her hands in his and saying, "Kagome, my dear Kagome, seeing as today is Friday, would you like to go to a movie with me tomorrow?"  
  
"Higurashi?!" gasped a surprised voice. Hojo had arrived on the scene to find Kagome with a new boy and another blue-eyed boy he knew by site, but not name. Hojo noticed that the new boy looked like Sesshoumaru, the new guy in Kagome's class. "What going on here, Higurashi? Ah, I guess it doesn't matter. Do you want to catch a movie tomorrow?"  
  
Kagome started getting those anime pissed-off twitches. ~Why do you have to pick one me? Eh? Why me?!~  
  
"Kagome! So. . . you're going out with this guy?" Inuyasha jabbed his thumb towards Hojo.  
  
"Un! That's right," nodded Hojo.  
  
"No, Hojo, I can't make it this weekend. I have to do some cleaning at home," Kagome didn't want to seem awful by saying, 'No I'm not going out with Hojo-kun' so she said, "And no, Inuyasha, I'm not officially going out with anyone."  
  
Hojo went a bit wide-eyed, but soon returned back to normal. Inuyasha "feh"ed and Kouga smiled wider. But just then, Eri walked past, saw Kagome and then panicked.  
  
"Kagome-chan!!!" Eri grabbed Kagome's arm and dragged her away from the boys. "What ARE you doing?! If you surround yourself with boys like that everyone's gonna call you a . . . a. . .. . . . a slut!"  
  
Kagome was not surprised by this news. She explained to Eri about all the unwanted attention she was getting and asked how she could stop them.  
  
"Kagome, gomen ne, but," Eri started, "This is really your problem now, I can't help you."  
  
"Its ok. I didn't really expect you to come up with a solution to this. . . its hard enough with the exams coming up, but I don't this I can handle all this! Just wait a second, Eri-chan. TAKE ONE MORE STEP AND YOU'LL REGRET IT!!!"  
  
Kagome stood up and looked at Hojo, Kouga and Inuyasha, who were heading for her. It was really pissing her off now. Could they not take a hint?!?!  
  
"LEAVE! ME! ALONE!!!!!!!!!!"  
  
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Wow that's long. . . . ok . . . cya guys soon for chapter 6! Ja ne! 


	6. The intruder

Helo! Ok . . . . just a note.. . . . . I hav finally given in to my temptaion to write reali long chaps . . . . lol . . . hope ya guys don't mind. . . lol and STOP worrying Kag fans, she'll choose the right one. (soz that this one's a bit late, I had to clean my room the other day-_- l|||)  
  
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Kagome fell back onto her bed happily. Friday afternoon had always been her favorite time of the week, but today it felt especially sweet. This was the first day away from school, away from all the tests and exams, and best of all, away from THEM. Kouga, Inuyasha, Hojo and Sesshoumaru. She didn't know that Sesshoumaru liked her, but he just annoyed her.  
  
"Aaaaahhh, I'm so glad!" she sighed, "No more, 'Hey stop touching my woman'. But. . . even though it is for a little while. . . . its better than nothing I guess."  
  
"Kagome!!" Kagome's mother called her from downstairs. "A 'Hamade Kouga' is on the phone for you!"  
  
~Shimatte. . .~ Kagome thought to herself, ~can't they leave me alone for once?!~ Kagome walked down the stairs and took the phone from her okaa-san.  
  
"Arigato, Mama," she said sullenly to her and to the phone said, "Moshi moshi? Oh, hi Kouga. Ah, iie, I'm not done cleaning yet. Iie, I won't be free tomorrow. Oh, I think Otooto's calling me." ("Eh? Kagome? No I'm not" said Souta with a puzzled look.) "Ok, Bye bye!" Before Kouga could say goodbye she slammed down the phone.  
  
Kagome started to head upstairs when she heard the phone ring and Souta picked it up.  
  
"Moshi Moshi? Oh, Hai," Souta covered the receiver of the phone and yelled, "Onee-chan! Phone for you!"  
  
"Hai, hai. . ." Kagome rolled her eyes and took the phone from her Otooto, "Moshi moshi? Oh, hi Hojo-kun. Iie, I'm not sick. I told you yesterday. . . .I have to clean. Hai, I'm sure I'm ok. Iie, I won't be able to go out for a while. Ok, Ja ne."  
  
The phone seemed to have a life of its own today! As soon as she hung it up, it began to ring again. Getting a little irritated, Kagome picked it up.  
  
"Moshi moshi?!" It was Ayame, a girl who she had met though Kouga. "Ah, Gomen ne, Ayame-chan. I'm just a little edgy today; people who I don't really like have been calling me today. Oh! No of course you're not one of them. Ne, I have to go. Cleaning. Ok, Ja ne!"  
  
~It'd better not . . . ~ Kagome began to think as she gently put down the phone, but sure enough, it rang yet again. ~ring again. . . . ~ Kagome gave a small 'Grr!' as she lifted the handset.  
  
"Moshi moshi!" she sighed into the phone, getting more irritated by the minute.  
  
"Kagome?" It was Inuyasha.  
  
"Inuyasha, I'm really not in the mood to talk to-"  
  
"Kagome, just hear me out, ok?"  
  
"N-nani, Inuyasha?" Kagome sat down, still annoyed, but willing to hear him.  
  
"I'm really sorry. I totally forgot about you when I saw you the other day. It was just. . . I think I might have tried to suppress those memories of us when we were little because. . . . because of that day . . . "  
  
Kagome's mind flared with the memory of him leaving, and of her not making it to see him leave.  
  
"Inuyasha. . . " she began, "Gomen ne."  
  
"What happened, Kagome? Why didn't you come?" he whispered.  
  
"I . . . I . . . " tears began to well in Kagome's eyes. She didn't want to tell him that she had slept in! "I don't know. . . "  
  
Kagome heard a click of a phone hanging up before she could say sorry to him. But as she put it down, it rang yet again. Frustrated, and on the verge of tears, Kagome snatched up the earpiece.  
  
"Nani!!!!" she half-yelled into the phone. "Oh, hi Hitomi-chan." Kagome thrust the phone towards Souta. "Its for you. Remember to unplug the phone when you're done."  
  
"Hai, 'Neechan," said Souta and began to talk to his girlfriend. He took a tiny glance an his sister, who looked like she was going to cry.  
  
~No way . .. . . how could they ALL get my number?!~ miserably, Kagome trudged her way upstairs. ~this is just too much . .. . . . ~ She stumbled to her bedroom and lay down to have a nap.  
  
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Kagome awoke to find the house eerily still and quiet. Dried tears left salty trails down her cheeks. Slowly she sat up and hugged a pillow to her. ~He hates me now.~ Kagome's eye leaked a few fresh tears onto her pillow. ~Why? Why does it hurt so much? Why do I want him in my life? If all he causes me is this horrible pain, then why? I have Kouga, I have Hojo, and they are so much better than him! But. . . . But why, why must it be him?~  
  
Finally Kagome noticed that the house was eerily still and quiet. Standing up, she noticed a post-it note stuck to her desk.  
  
Dear Kagome,  
  
Gone out shopping, be back later. Didn't want to wake you. If . . . .  
  
She didn't bother reading the rest, but Kagome sighed in relief. She needed to be alone at a time like this. Depression sure had a way of making you feel unloved. ~Inu yasha . . .doesn't . . . love me . . . at all . . ~ Kagome sniffed. Then, finding strength, thought ~Fine. Let him be that way.~  
  
"INUYASHA YOU TRAITOR!" she screamed out, venting all her frustration, her misery, her . . . disappointment. Kagome collapsed on the floor and sobbed. She was so caught up in her emotions that she didn't detect the noises coming from downstairs.  
  
Kagome, still gloomy, decided to go downstairs and have something to eat. But first she stopped by the bathroom to wash her face. ~I must look really terrible. . . great. Another reason for Inuyasha to hate me. . . . . I look like a mangled youkai.~ Kagome coughed as the cold water splashed onto her face, washing away her tears and her emotions at the same time. Suddenly her ears sharpened as they received the sound of something dropping on the floor . . . downstairs. . . .  
  
~Kore wa. . . ~ Kagome's heart began to thud uncontrollably. ~Nani?! If Souta and Mama and Grandpa are out shopping, then who's downstairs?!~  
  
Kagome started to tremble. A robber!! She ran to her room and grabbed her set of keys, holding one firmly between her middle and ring finger. All the knives were downstairs, but if she managed to hurt him enough with this key, she might be able to get one of the knives out of the kitchen drawer.  
  
Slowly she crept down the wooden stairs, making sure she didn't step on the ones that creaked. Her heart was beating to loud and fast she was almost sure that the robber would hear it and know she was there. Once she was downstairs, she realised that the robber was near the front door! ~Probably trying to escape~ she thought.  
  
Then she heard it - a low, animal, yet oddly dignified voice. It sounded . . . familiar . . . But it couldn't be. Sesshoumaru wasn't the type to go breaking into people's homes. . .  
  
"Kuso. . . ." the voice murmured, "Where is it? Here? Agh, why is a simple concealment spell so hard to find?!"  
  
~Concealment spell? What's he going on about?~ Kagome tiptoed carefully to the kitchen, away from the burglar, and got one of the sharp knives from the drawer next to the stove. Placing the key silently on the kitchen top, Kagome steadied herself, getting ready for her attack. ~Ok Kagome, relax, breathe.~  
  
"YAAAAHH!!!" Kagome gave a shout and charged into the front entryway. Her eyes closed, she swung the knife around wildly, not really wanting it to hit anything. When she didn't feel it connect into any kind of flesh, Kagome slowly opened her eyes and gasped.  
  
"Komban wa, Kagome."  
  
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I'm sori this chapter came a bit late (more like a week^^") but school starts next week and I've been preparing (studying, getting new books and stationery, washing uniforms) so gomen nasai! Also I've started a Bankotsu fansite! For those of you who don't know who Bankotsu is, he shows up around ep 110. (the series with the opening song as Grip!) plz visit! R+R if u hav time, the URL to the site is in my profile! 


	7. Mistaken

Helo! Sori about last week, I could only manage that much between makin my site, perparin for skool and goin out (my feet r KILLIN me . . . . I went ice-skatin last Thursday . . . . hav blisters -_-l|||) Newayz . . . . lets get on with chapter 7!  
  
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"Komban wa, Kagome."  
  
"Sesshoumaru!" Kagome nearly dropped the knife in her immediate fear. He had nearly killed her at the Archery Range, now he's breaking into her house?!?! What was WITH this guy?! Anger doubling by the second, Kagome secured her hold on the knife. "What are you doing here?! EH? Tell me, what is it you want from me?"  
  
Sesshoumaru, who could smell Kagome's fear before, was surprised at how fast she could go from afraid to infuriated. He knew it would be harder to restrain her if she was pissed off. Kagome raised the knife to attack. Sesshoumaru made one swift motion and, with his youkai speed, he grabbed Kagome's hand that was holding the knife and held it up to neck, sidestepped to behind her and held her other hand still by her side.  
  
Kagome froze. In one move Sesshoumaru had trapped her between him and the knife she was carrying. The blade was now less than a centimetre from her neck, Sesshoumaru's hand on hers over the handle. Kagome was somewhat surprised at how gentle and smooth Sesshoumaru's hands were. It was these hands, the hands that held hers right now, that had nearly killed her, that had almost injured Kouga, and yet, they seemed so pure and elegant. It was then that Kagome noticed that he wasn't pushed up right against her, nor was his grip on either of her hands that tight. It was almost like he was saying, "I don't want to hurt you, but I will if I have to". Kagome relaxed a bit, calmed herself down and said, "Sesshoumaru. Just tell me straight out. What do you want from me?"  
  
Sesshoumaru leant a bit closer to Kagome, about to ask her to reveal herself as a youkai, but something stopped him.. . . . her scent. . . . It was a musky sort of aroma, laced with the smell of water and flowers. It was like he had been mesmerized by that smell, and he realised he didn't want to know whether she was a youkai or not - he just wanted her. He wanted to know wether she was a youkai because his heart had fallen for her, but his pride refused to love a human. He wanted to protect her, to be with her, to hold her hand and stay with her; the only thing holding him back was his youkai honour. But no one would know, if it were here. He leaned in to Kagome and whispered in her ear: "I want . . . to be with you . . . " and placed a gentle kiss on her neck.  
  
Up until that point, Kagome's nerves had been on edge, stretched out to their absolute limit. Now, however, she felt all loose, as though the vices making her nerves stretch had suddenly let go. Somehow, Sesshoumaru's presence calmed her. ~Just like the Shrine purifies evil . . . could it be that his hate has been purified by . . . by what? By me? And so . . . that purity is passing onto me?~ Kagome's thoughts were swimming. But . . . . No. . . . this wasn't right . . . . .  
  
"Inuyasha." Kagome's knees gave way and she fell in a heap onto the ground, her hands still in Sesshoumaru's. Tears began to pour out of her eyes, accompanied by occasional sniffs and sobs. She felt so . . . so . . .so worthless! As if no one in the world cared about her, not one single soul. Kagome felt her worries and troubled falling away as she cried. Everything up until now, every thing she had stored away to deal with later, forced its way out of her there and then.  
  
Sesshoumaru was genuinely shocked when Kagome broke down and cried, right in his arms. Like an egg breaking, she had gone from whole, strong and sturdy to fluid, weak, apathetic. Sesshoumaru sat down behind her, took the knife from her hand and placed it on the floor and took her into his lap.  
  
"What's wrong?" he cooed soothingly, "Kagome, if there is anything you think I could help you with, anything at all, just tell me."  
  
He could smell hesitation in Kagome, so he wrapped his arms around her and said to her two words -  
  
"Trust me."  
  
Kagome didn't even twitch when Sesshoumaru put his arms around her. All she needed right now was to feel loved, to feel that someone needed her by their side. Silenced tears rolled down her pale cheeks as her life flared before her eyes, and through it all she could see that all through her life she had been hoping for one thing : the return of her beloved Inu-chan.  
  
With a sigh, Kagome leaned on Sesshoumaru's strong and almost comforting shoulder, and began to talk. Her voice was croaky from all that crying, but right then she felt that she didn't want to live anymore. She wanted to die so, really, what did she have to lose? Telling Sesshoumaru didn't matter to her. She didn't care anymore. Sesshoumaru's eyes became wider and wider as Kagome told him of her promise with Inuyasha, all those years ago. How every year, when a boy asked her out, she would deny, thinking that Inuyasha would come and think she had broken their promise. Why she would never let anyone get too close to her, why she would build an emotional wall around her, to keep her from being tempted to break her promise. She even told him of her fear that he might have forgotten about the promise, forgotten about their childhood together, about her. Kagome spilled her heart out to the youkai who had almost killed her, twice.  
  
When Kagome finished, Sesshoumaru was slightly stunned at her. ~This girl, she has gone through so many hardships,~ he realised, ~and yet, she still finds the will to live . . . . to be happy, polite and respectful to those ranked higher than her, to not be spiteful or jealous. . . . even though her life was a living hell? No. She cannot be a youkai. Youkai may be stronger than humans physically and probably emotionally, but . . . . . .. no youkai would ever let this happen to themselves. They would kill before letting it get this far.~ It was then that Sesshoumaru noticed that Kagome had fallen asleep in his arms.  
  
"Gomen nasai, Higurashi-sama." Sesshoumaru stood up, carrying Kagome upstairs and placing her in the room where he could smell her scent the strongest. He kissed her gently on the forehead, to wish her good dreams, then briskly walked to her window and pulled it open. "Oyasumi," he added, looking over his shoulder to the sleeping girl who he had mistaken.  
  
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Thanx 2 u all for reviewing my story!! ^^ sori this one took so long, its just skool started and I only get about an hour on the comp each nite now ;- ; Neway. next chap should come soon (I hope) R+R! 


	8. The Akai no Ryu

Hey ppls!! Chapta 8, fresh from my tips of my fingers! I won't say much here, except Enjoy!  
  
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It was Sunday, the day after Sesshoumaru had gone to Kagome's house. Sesshoumaru lay in bed, mind buzzing with thoughts of her. He had been awake since 3 am, but hadn't gotten up at all. Rin had come into his room a few hours ago, but Sesshoumaru had told her politely to leave. He needed to think. ~What is keeping her alive?~ he wondered, ~ What was it about her that made her so powerful? What gave her the strength and will to live? Or for that matter, why does she choose to live? Surely death would be easier than staying in this realm, which provides her with nothing but torture. . . .. ~  
  
Sighing, Sesshoumaru rolled over and tried to get back to sleep. To be honest, he didn't really want to go outside at all, seeing as he would have to face Inuyasha . . . . . . ~Inuyasha . . . Yeah, Kagome told me about her connection with him.~ Sesshoumaru rolled onto his back, put his hands behind his head, trying to get comfortable. ~Apparently they had made a promise . . . One which she believes he has forgotten. But . . . why would Inuyasha forget? Something that important. . . even an idiot like him shouldn't forget a promise.. . . . ~  
  
Staring blankly at the ceiling, he sighed. He was too restless to sleep. Sliding silently from under the silky white sheets, Sesshoumaru walked over to his black oak wardrobe and yanked it open. He rubbed sleep from his amber eyes as he pulled out a pair of black pants and a marbled red button down shirt that had a silver dove embellished on the back. As he dressed, Sesshoumaru's youkai ears picked up the distinct hum of motorcycles coming. ~Inuyasha's gang, most likely. Probably 2, maybe 3 miles away.~ He considered notifying Inuyasha, but as soon as he thought of it, Sesshoumaru heard the unmistakeable sound of his hanyou brother thundering down the oak stairs.  
  
Sesshoumaru finished buttoning up his shirt and exited his room as Inuyasha swept by, dressed in black leather, tying a red-and-black bandanna to his head as he went. Sesshoumaru glared at the back of Inuyasha's silvery hair, thinking of how much pain he had caused Kagome.  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*Flashback of night before*^~*^~^*~^*~  
  
Kagome had shifted uncomfortably in Sesshoumaru's lap. All at once Kagome seemed to relax; her shoulders dropped, her head settled on his shoulder, and she leaned into him, finding comfort in his powerful aura. "I'm scared," She admitted finally, "I'm scared of losing him forever. I almost lost him once, and I'm not sure he forgives me for that. I'm scared of losing anyone I get close to, so that's why. . . . that's why I never let anyone in. I . . . I put a barrier around my heart so no one can hurt it, like he did."  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*End Flashback*^~*^~*^~*^~  
  
When Sesshoumaru had snapped back into reality, Inuyasha was about to open the double front doors. Decided he had better straighten things out with him, Sesshoumaru jumped down in front of his half-brother and slapped his hand away from the handle as he reached for it. On reflex, Inuyasha jumped back in surprise and landed on the banister, balancing cautiously.  
  
"Matte," said Sesshoumaru, voice rumbling out with a sense of authority. Then, hesitantly, added, "kudasai."  
  
"Nani?" Inuyasha snarled, rubbing his hand where Sesshoumaru had slapped it. Ouch, it stung. "Is this important, or do you just want to piss me off?"  
  
"Luckily for you, 'otooto'," Sesshoumaru elongated the last word, slowly and deliberately saying every syllable with an unsurpassable hate, "Neither will be necessary at this time. I just wish to talk to you about something."  
  
"Oi! Inuya!" called a voice from outside, accompanied by the demanding drumbeat of two people knocking on the front door. "Ikuzo!"  
  
"Matte, Renko!" Inuyasha replied. Then, a voice so sickeningly sweet it was almost painful, floated through to the hanyou's ears.  
  
"'Yasha-chan . . . . guess who . . . ." a high pitched giggle followed.  
  
"Kikyo!" gasped Inuyasha, and with a puzzled glare to his brother, said, "We can continue this later."  
  
"As you wish, Otooto," Sesshoumaru stepped sideways with a sardonic grin, waving his hand towards the door and slid past Inuyasha up the stairs. The hanyou sprang towards the door and flung it open. There was his gang, the Akai no Ryu, the Red Dragons. [AN: Original, ne? lol] There were 8 of them there, not including Kikyo. Altogether the Akai no Ryu had 9 members. They were lined up in a sort of aisle, 4 on Inuyasha's right side, 3 on the left, 1 at the end. Inuyasha began his walk down the Dragon's walkway.  
  
To his right stood Jakotsu, probably the scariest of the lot, not only because he had a killer sword, but because he sadistically gay. His sword was strapped tightly to his back as usual, over his stylish black jacket, white stretch top and casual black denim jeans. Jako, as he was called, smirked oddly at Inuyasha and winked. Inuyasha hadn't forgotten that Jakotsu had actually tried to kill him once.  
  
Kyoukotsu, the strongest, who stood head and shoulders above the rest, was the first person on his left. He was their main attack force. If something was physically stronger than him, then they were doomed. He also had a bike custom made for him, with a fortified frame so it would support his weight.  
  
On his right as he moved forward was Renkotsu, the smartest of the group. He thought up their attack strategy, balanced the money out, took care of the bills and was pretty good at making a hot meal. He had designed a bike for Inuyasha as an initiation present. His bike, a silver Harley-Davidson, gleamed in the morning light as he sat back and grinned at him.  
  
Mukotsu and Ginkotsu were the next pair, both of which didn't really like Inuyasha, so they merely nodded to him to show they had seen him. Ginkotsu was very strange, in the way that he was more machine than man. He had lost his arms and legs in an accident a few years back, as well as having to get a pacemaker put into his chest.  
  
Suikotsu was the last person on his right, giving him a kind smile as he passed. Suikotsu was dangerous, though to the Akai no Ryu he was almost like a father. He was especially skilled when it came to medical aid.  
  
The final member and current leader of the Akai no Ryu stood next to his red Honda CBR1100XX, tailor made to suit his needs. Bankotsu Dokuya was dressed in a long black leather trenchcoat, a pair of black pants and a black sleeveless shirt with a high collar, his giant halberd Banryuu slung over his shoulder. Each of his wrists bore red spiked bracelets, as well as a pair of red dragons tattooed down each of his arms. His long black hair was braided back, leaving a wisp of fringe to add some flair. Inuyasha bowed deeply to him.  
  
"Marekete Inuyasha. So nice of you to let us know you moved schools." Said Bankotsu coolly, "Never would have thought you'd move in with that pompous bastard of a brother. If it weren't for little Kikyo here, we would have never found you." Bankotsu motioned for Kikyo to come forward and slinked his arm around her waist.  
  
"Gomen nasai, Bankotsu-sama," mumbled Inuyasha, twitching as his ex- girlfriend, who he still had feelings for, smiled tartly at him. "I didn't know that someone knew where I had moved to."  
  
"Oh Inu-chan, don't be so cooolllddd," drawled Kikyo. Inuyasha snapped.  
  
"Don't you DARE call me that, EVER!" Inuyasha roared as he leapt to his feet.  
  
Bankotsu gave him a strange look, then turned to the rest of the Ryu.  
  
"Renkotsu, go get Inuyasha's bike." He said simply. Renkostu bowed respectfully and walked to the side. It was then that Inuyasha spotted a mound of canvas standing a few feet away.  
  
"B-Banko. . . .. . tsu. . . . . . you didn't!!" stammered Inuyasha. Bankotsu grinned.  
  
"Behold, Inuyasha, your reinitiation present!" announced Renkotsu proudly, and whisked off the canvas cover, revealing a gleaming red Honda CBR1100XX, an exact replica of Bankotsu's, except less modified.  
  
"Bankotsu-Oankiki . . . . how did you get this?" Inuyasha ran over to the bike and inspected every inch of it. Bankotsu just smiled and motioned for the Akai no Ryu to start moving. Inuyasha pounced on the bike, revved her up and shot off after Bankotsu, spilling up dust as he went.  
  
However, some other certain someone was not as impressed with the new toy as Inuyasha was. Sesshoumaru was in his room again, watching all this from above.  
  
"Inuyasha wa baka. . ." he muttered, " Doesn't he see? Bankotsu is just toying with him . . . . ."  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*15 hours Later*^~*^~*^~*^~  
  
"Ja ne, Inuya!" called Jakotsu as he sped off into the night. The akai no Ryu had come to drop Inuyasha off at home. As soon as Inuyasha flopped down onto his bed, his older half-brother stormed into the room.  
  
"Nani, Sesshoumaru?" he sighed, tired from a whole day of riding.  
  
"I need to talk to you, as strange as that sounds, about Kagome."  
  
"Well, can we talk about this in the morning?"  
  
"No."  
  
"*Sigh* Go on then, but make it quick."  
  
"Are you going to marry Kagome?"  
  
"Eto . . . . . No. . . . ."  
  
"So you don't remember then."  
  
"Remember what?"  
  
"Your promise to her."  
  
"Promise? What promise!!??!?" Inuyasha was getting agitated.  
  
"Just think about it for me, will you? Kagome's a lovely girl, and I don't want her to be sad. You will make her sad if you don't remember."  
  
"REMEMBER WHAT?!?" he yelled.  
  
"The thing that happened 10 years ago."  
  
"WHAT THING!!!!!!!!!!!!"  
  
"Inuyasha, you truly are an idiot. I'm leaving."  
  
"Se-Sesshoumaru! Matte!" Inuyasha sat up on his bed, wide awake.  
  
"Nani?"  
  
"How do you know all this?" Sesshoumaru looked back on his way out of the room.  
  
"She told me"  
  
Once Seshsoumaru had left the room, Inuyasha pounced on the phone and dialed Kagome's number maniacally.  
  
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Ugh . . . . took me so long to finish. . . .. . . but its done.. . . . . hey nxt chappie comin sometime before November 15 . .. hopefully.  
  
-KChan 


	9. Aishiteru!

IK9  
  
OK, Not gonna waste time here, so just read on! R+R!  
  
Keys:  
  
~thinking~  
  
"Speaking"  
  
_~*sound*~_  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*time lapse*^~*^~^*~^*~  
  
-exaggerated-  
  
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Inuyasha set back the mouthpiece of the phone, defeated, after trying to contact Kagome. ~Great, now I feel all guilty. Stupid Sesshoumaru.~ Inuyasha lay back on his bed. It was late, and he needed sleep. Tomorrow was a school day, and he hadn't studied at all.  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*In the Morning*^~*^~*^~*^~  
  
Inuyasha heard a faint tinkly noise as his mind swam groggily back to reality. ~The. alarm clock?~ Grumbling, Inuyasha swung his arm fast towards his bedside table, only to whack it painfully on the corner.  
  
Inuyasha opened his eyes slowly and looked at his hand. It was the same one Sesshoumaru had slapped the other day, so it still had a bruise on it. ~Its throbbing.~ he thought. Suddenly, finally, the pain from the table shot through to his brain.  
  
"YEEEEEOOOOWWWWWCH~~!!!!!" screamed Inuyasha, jumping out of bed and holding onto his hand. "Kuso. . . . " he murmured as he looked over his hand, which was now covered in blue blotches.  
  
"Inu-oniichan?" piped a kind voice from his door. Inuyasha looked up. Rin ran into the room, offering him a bunch of bandages. "Are you okay?"  
  
"Hai, Rin-chan. I just hit my hand on the table." Inuyasha showed her his hand.  
  
"Owchie." Rin took Inuyasha's good hand and sat him down on the bed. Rin herself jumped up beside him and began to bandage his hand.  
  
"Haha, Rin-chan," smiled Inuyasha, "A wound like this doesn't need a bandage, only cuts do."  
  
"But I'm just putting some padding around it so when you bang it against stuff it doesn't hurt as much," replied Rin.  
  
Sesshoumaru was watching all this from the doorway, wondering how on earth he can be so nice to Rin, and yet so horrible to Kagome? Sesshoumaru scoffed and left, a mixture of disgust and disappointment swirling inside him.  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*At school*^~*^~*^~*^~  
  
Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru left the house at different times and came to school by different entrances, to make it look like they were similar in appearance only. Sesshoumaru, the faster of the two, left after Inuyasha but always got there before him. Inuyasha tried explaining to his brother that he shouldn't use his youkai power near the school, including speed, but Sesshoumaru had just glared at him.  
  
Now Inuyasha was walking to school, watching Sesshoumaru sail on overhead. ~Baka~ He said to himself.  
  
"Hey! Inuyasha!" called a voice behind him.  
  
"Ohayo, Miroku." He muttered, without turning around. Miroku caught up to his friend just as they turned he turned that last corner on the way to school.  
  
"Ohayo to you too, Inuyasha," he laughed. Miroku looked pretty cute in the school uniform, but he was far from innocent. He was a bit (more like a lot) of a pervert, and never passed up an opportunity to grope chicks. His right hand was bound for reasons unknown, and he was the only one who knew about Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru being brothers. As Inuyasha's best friend and fellow Akai no Ryu, he also knew about his situation to Kagome.  
  
"You didn't come last night," said Inuyasha, starting the conversation for once. "Banktosu'll have your head next time he sees you. Not to mention you missed out on me getting my new bike."  
  
"You got a new bike?!"  
  
"Yep. From Banko himself. CBR1100XX, just like his except not as flashy." Inuyasha grinned as they passed thought the gates. Taking a quick glance around he saw Sesshoumaru sitting with his ring of friends in a shady corner of the courtyard. On the other side, sitting under the trees, was Kagome and her new friend, Sango.  
  
"Inuyasha! Miroku!" waved Sango merrily. Kagome sort of half-smiled, then got out a writing pad from her bag and started to write on it as the boys walked over. Miroku sat down next to Sango, but Inuyasha remained standing. Kagome handed the pad to Inuyasha.  
  
"I lost my voice" he read aloud.  
  
"Kagome-sama! That's terrible . . . " said Miroku, leaping to his knees and grasping Kagome's hands 'concernedly'. "Kagome-sama, if there is anything in the world I can do for you, anything at all, whether it be a -therapeutic massage- or ah . . . ah . . . Sango . . . . let go of my ear . . . . Sango that hurts . . . . "  
  
Sango had grabbed Miroku by the ear and dragged him away from Kagome. Thuds could be heard as Sango whacked Miroku over the head several times. Kagome giggled softly.  
  
"Higurashi! Ohayo gozaimasu!" Hojo had just arrived at school and was walking over. Inuyasha scoffed and walked a bit away from Kagome, muttering to her, "I'll leave you two alone."  
  
Kagome reached out to Inuyasha, but stopped, thinking that he still hated her. Instead she turned her back to Inuyasha to go greet Hojo.  
  
"Higurashi, are you okay? Why aren't you speaking?"  
  
"K. . . .k . . .Kagome . . . . " Inuyasha's eyes shadowed as he tried desperately not to break into tears, "How can I tell you? I . . . ."  
  
_~*Rrrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggggggggggggg!!!*~_  
  
"Oi, Inuyasha! Come on, we need to get to class." Said Miroku, massaging his head where Sango had hit him.  
  
"H-hai." He said huskily.  
  
"Uh, Inuyasha? Are you okay?"  
  
"I'm fine." Inuyasha turned around and smiled at Miroku. "It's no biggy."  
  
"If you say so." Replied a somewhat unconvinced Miroku and they both ran to their classroom.  
  
Once they got the hallway outside their classrooms, Miroku waved to Inuyasha and dodged into the first door, which was also Kagome's classroom. Inuyasha caught a quick glimpse of Kouga sitting on the desk next to Kagome, talking to her while she wrote on her pad in response.  
  
"Inuyasha! Hurry up!" A few doors down was his and Sango's classroom. Inuyasha tore his eyes away from the pair and jogged down the hallway to Sango. He was supposed to be put a grade lower, like Sesshoumaru had, but they had decided that it would be too much of a coincidence that two people that look incredibly like brothers were both put down a level around the same time.  
  
But all through class, Inuyasha struggled to keep his mind away from Kagome. His first lesson, Geography, was toture. They were learning the chemical compounds in the soil of Mt Fuji. Sighing, Inuyasha looked out the window and stared at the cherry trees. Summer was coming, so they were nearly all in bloom.  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*FLASHBACK*^~*^~*^~*^~  
  
"Inu-chan? Aren't the cherry trees prettiful?" said a little Kagome, smiling after she swallowed a mouthful of peanut butter sandwich.  
  
"Uh . . . . Well . . . . h-hai . . . " chibi Inuyasha blushed. He had never eaten lunch with a girl before, let alone a girl he really liked. Taking a bite of his sandwich, Inuyasha looked up at the tree they were sitting under. It had just begun to drop its flowers a week ago, so they were sitting on a blanket of pale pink. He had gotten used to Kagome calling him "Inu-chan", so he didn't mind. Lifting his sandwich to take a bite, he heard Kagome say something to him.  
  
"Ano . . . Inu-chan . . . " Kagome started, "You have a flower on your sandwich . . . "  
  
"Eh?" Inuyasha already had the sandwich in his mouth.  
  
"Heehee . . . you just ate a flower, Inu-chan!"  
  
"Oh . . . " Inuyasha looked thoughtfully at the rest of his sandwich. They sat on silence for a few moments, then Kagome spoke.  
  
"Inu-chan, can I tell you a secret?" Kagome looked wistfully up into the sky.  
  
"Um . . . if you want to . . . . " Inuyasha went a bit red again.  
  
"There's this boy I really really like, but I don't know if he likes me, you know? He's really nice to me and everything, but sometimes I get the feeling that. . . even though we made a really important promise . . . . I feel like. . . he doesn't like me . . ." said Kagome, blushing slightly and looking away from Inuyasha.  
  
"Of course he like you, Kame-chan!" Inuyasha said sweetly, putting a hand on her shoulder, "You're really nice, I don't see why he wouldn't like you!"  
  
"H-hontoni?" Kagome's eyes lit up like Christmas lights, looking hopefully at Inuyasha.  
  
"O-o-of course!" Inuyasha smiled as a sweatdrop ran down his face, blushing like a strawberry. Kagome finished the rest of her sandwich and turned to her best friend as she stood up and packed her lunch into her bag.  
  
"Arigato, Inu-chan," Kagome gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and ran into the house, bag swinging merrily by her side. "Ja ne!"  
  
Inuyasha just sat there, stunned, with his hand on his cheek where Kagome had kissed it.  
  
"J-ja ne. . . ."  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*END FLASHBACK*^~*^~*^~*^~  
  
"Inuyasha! Wake up! Class is over!!" Sango shook Inuyasha's shoulder roughly to wake him up. "Oh come on you lazy baka!" Sango planted a slap straight across his jaw.  
  
"Ow, Sango," Inuyasha muttered dully. "I can hear you, okay? Not like I'm deaf or anything. . . "  
  
"You might not be deaf, -Inukkoro- but you are INCREDIBLY stupid!" Sango spat and walked out of the room, leaving Inuyasha by himself. Propping himself up on his elbows, he sifted his hands through his silvery hair. ~Kagome. . . .~ sighing, he hauled himself off his chair and shoved all his books into his bag. ~How am I supposed to tell you? I love you, but I can't tell you because I know you'll laugh in my face. You hate me, don't you Kagome. . . .~  
  
"Inuya-kun!" Inuyasha looked up and saw Miroku at the doorway. "Come on, we're having lunch in the courtyard today."  
  
"Un . . . " Inuyasha's voice seemed oddly distant. Miroku began to ask him what was wrong, but thought better of it.  
  
When they got to the courtyard, the first thing Inuyasha saw was Kagome, giggling and talking softly to Sango. Apparently her voice had come back a little. Gathering allt he courage he had in his body, Inuyasha walked over and asked Kagome if he could have a private word with her.  
  
"Eh. . . . ?" Sango winked slyly at Kagome when she heard him. "Lucky, lucky, Kagome-chan . . . ."  
  
Kagome glared at Sango and followed Inuyasha inside to one of the more deserted hallways, all the while wondering what Inuyasha had planned. They walked a little more, when Inuyasha stopped unexpectedly, making Kagome bump into him.  
  
"K-Kagome," he started, not turning to face her just yet, "I-I-I have to tell you something."  
  
Kagome, who didn't have her notepad, whispered huskily, "Nani?"  
  
"A.. . . . .ai . . . " Inuyasha gulped, " . . . . .AISHITERU!!! !!! !!!"  
  
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(aishiteru = I love you)  
  
Ok, soz this came SO SO SO SO late, I totally forgot about it coz of skool, but since I'm on holidays now they're gonna com thick and fast! LoL, I'm also coming out with a Bankotsu Fanfic soon as well. Plz visit my site at e) and R+R! 


	10. Fever!

IK10

Ok, Just for the ppl hu r all confuzzly, chap 9 was supposed to be a few days after he tried to call Kagome. He hates Kikyo now, thinks she a slut etc. I hope that clears up a few things. . ..  gomen ne!^^'.. .. . . . (this isn't a very progressive chapter but it has a few little important facts in it)

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"AISHITERU!!! !!! !!!"

Kagome stood there, stunned. The Inuyasha she knew just didn't express his feelings like that. Usually he would have yelled at/beaten up/killed anyone who accused him of liking anyone. ~N. . . .Nanda?!~ Kagome felt faint. . . it was all confusing.  .  . she needed to sit down. . . .

"I. . . Inuyasha . . . " Kagome felt dizzy. She wished the floor would stop spinning, because it was getting. . .  hard . . to . .  . . . .stand . . . 

Inuyasha watched as Kagome began to sway from side to side. Suddenly, Kagome's body fell limp and she began to fall.  

"Kagome!!!!" Inuyasha dashed forward and caught Kagome before she hit the floor. "Kagome! Kagome!!! Wake up!!" ~Kuso. . . what happened to her?!~ Inuyasha placed his hand on her forehead. She was burning up! "A fever? At this time of year?" 

"Inuyasha," said a familiar voice behind him, "You should take her to the school nurse." 

"This is none of your business, Sesshoumaru." Inuyasha's hair fell across his face and hid his eyes. He didn't have to turn around to recognise that voice.  

"Quite the contrary, _Baka Otooto,"_ as always, he spat out the last word like poison, "this has quite a bit to do with me." Inuyasha "keh"ed.

"Like what, oh all-knowing brother of mine?" he sneered. 

"Like the fact that Kagome is my friend as well," replied Sesshoumaru.

Inuyasha, who had nothing to reply to this, merely stared coldly at his brother. 

"What are you waiting for, a reminder? Go take her to the nurse!" Sesshoumaru barked [AN: mind the pun…]. Inuyasha, who usually didn't take any kind of request or command or Sesshoumaru, complied only because it was a matter of Kagome's life. Standing up, Inuyasha turned to his brother. 

"I don't care if she's your friend," said Inuyasha, trying to keep his voice level. "I don't even care if you think she means more to you than she does to me." Inuyasha gave Sesshoumaru an evil eye. "All I care about is her, because I love her and that's all that matters to me. I . . . I only loved Kikyo because she looked like Kagome. Now that I've found Kagome, Kikyo no longer matters to me. So, _Oniisan,"_ Inuyasha turned his back to Sesshoumaru, "Do not mistake the reason for me following your command. I am doing this for Kagome, not because you are my brother."

With that, Inuyasha sped off towards the nurse's office. Sesshoumaru stood still as a statue. ~W . . . .why the hell did he tell me about Kikyo?~ Sesshoumaru wondered. ~He knows I wouldn't care about anything like that. . . so . . .why?~ 

"Sesshoumaru-sama," said a voice behind him. Sesshoumaru turned around to see Inuyasha's friend, Miroku, bowing slightly to him. "Can you please tell me where Inuyasha went? Sango is looking for Kagome, and if I do not return with either or both of them, she is likely to inflict pain upon me."

"I will tell you, Miroku, but do me one favour," said Sesshoumaru, "Stop talking like that. You sound like Jaken." 

"Haha! Sumimasen Sesshou-san, force of habit." Miroku laughed in an innocent kind of way with his hand behind his head. Sesshoumaru began to rub the bridge of his nose with one hand and pointed down the corridor to where Inuyasha went with the other. 

"Ah, Arigato," with that, Miroku sped off down the corridor. 

Sesshoumaru watched Miroku run off. Miroku was Sesshoumaru's spy into Inuyasha's life with the Akai no Ryu, just in case Inuyasha tried to bring shame upon the family. Miroku was there to look after Inuyasha. Sesshoumaru might seem cold and emotionless to Inuyasha on the outside, but deep deep deep deep –deep- down inside, Sesshoumaru –did- care for Inuyasha, but not as much as he cared for his family pride. 

"Baka Inuyasha." He muttered and spun around on his heel, turning the opposite direction while his long silver hair flicked out behind him as he walked. Lunchtime was nearly over, so he headed to his classroom and waited outside for the bell to ring. As he stood there, leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets, eyes closed, some girls from his class came by and spotted him. Sharpening his ears, thinking that he had nothing else to do, he listened in on their conversation. 

"That's him! That's him!!!" 

"Oh my GOD, he is such a spunk!" 

"Hey! He is MINE!! M-I-N-E!!!!!"

"Myah, Ayame-chan, this is like, the first time you haven't said anything about a guy!!"

"Oh, Sesshoumaru? Nah, I just don't like to talk about him coz he has really good hearing and is probably listening on every word  we say." 

"EH? How do you know that??"

"I have a friend who knows him."

"REALLY!!! Omigod Omigod Omigod!!!!! I know someone that knows a friend of Sesshoumaru-oujisama!!" [AN: ouji = prince]

"H-hearing??? Oh no!!! That means he knows that we like him!!!" 

"Eeep!" 

Sesshoumaru laughed inwardly. Just for kicks, he decided to intervene. We kicked away from the wall and headed over to the group, who was so into their conversation they didn't notice him, until one of the girls gave a somewhat choked squeal. 

"Se . . .. Sesshoumaru-sempai!" 

"Konnichiwa, Ayame-kun, ogenki desu ka?" [AN: ---how are you] Sesshoumaru smiled heart-meltingly and he could tell that some of the girls were having trouble staying conscious. 

"U. . .un, daijoubu . . . ." Ayame stammered. The slightest tinge of pink surfaced on her cheeks, then she coughed and said, "Ne, what do you think of Kouga?"

Sesshoumaru was taken aback. He didn't expect an actual conversation. 

"Eto. . . " Sesshoumaru thought for a little bit. "He's a good person on the inside, though he seems a little protective. Especially of Kagome."

"Haha! That's kind of how I feel!" Ayame giggled nervously. "Do. . . Do you think he'd ask her out?" 

"Well, love is like. . . " Sesshoumaru needed an idea. He glanced out the window and saw a black-and-orange butterfly flutter past. " . . . a butterfly." 

Ayame gave him a weird look. (T_T) "A butterfly?"

"Uh. . . Hai!" He worked his mind overtime to think up an idea to go with it. Then it came to him. "Hold it too loose, and it will fly away and probably never return. Hold it too tight, and you will suffocate it and it will die, ne?" 

The girls standing around him gave a light gasp of awe. Never had they imagined a guy like Sesshoumaru to say something as sweet as that!

~S . . Shimatte~ Sesshoumaru cursed. ~ I had to make up that weird pansy saying, just because my plan backfired . . . ~ He gave a cough, excused himself and returned to his spot on the wall. As soon as he resumed leaning against the wall, he heard one of them say , "Waaaaai! He's so. . . .perfect!!" 

 "Oi. Sesshoumaru," Kouga appeared at Sesshoumaru's shoulder, breathing heavily and furious. "Where's Kagome?!" 

"I dunno. Last time I saw her she was running off with that Inuyasha kid." Sesshoumaru felt evil. Stirring things up around here would take focus away from him for once. 

"WHAT?! AND YOU LET HIM JUST TAKE HER LIKE THAT???!!!!" 

"Yep." 

"WHAT THE HELL, SESSHOUMARU!!!! !!! !!!"

"Well, maybe you should stop focusing on what someone else already has and try unravelling your eyes from that veil of denial?" retorted Sesshoumaru coolly. Kouga, who had nothing else to say to this, went slightly pink and turned around, saying quietly so that only Sesshoumaru could hear,

"Because I love her. It pains me because I know she doesn't love me, and I want her to be with me so much that I-"

Sesshoumaru sighed, whispering back "Talk to me later," as the teacher came along to open the door to the classroom. 

Sesshoumaru spent the whole lesson staring at the blackboard in boredom. Everything just didn't quite make sense. ~So. . . Inuyasha stil hasn''t remembered his promise about Kagome? And yet he still loves her?~ Sesshoumaru propped his head onto his hand. ~Or is it that the feelings that he has for Kikyo transferred to Kagome, because of their similar looks? But. . . he did say that he only loved Kikyo for her looks. . .  because her face reminded him of someone. . . Kagome maybe? ~

Deciding that he wouldn't meddle with his brother's life, Sesshoumaru sat up straight as the teacher asked him to answer the question on the board. 

~^*~^*~^*~^*Meanwhile*^~*^~^*~^*~

"Is she going to be alright?" asked an anxious Inuyasha to the school nurse. "She is, right?"

"Mmm, I don't know," answered the nurse, taking Kagome's temperate again. "From the looks of it she's got a tonsillitis and a bad fever, but she will live, so long as she has a strong heart."

"Yokata. . ." sighed Inuyasha, slumping into a nearby chair. "I thought for a moment back there she was goner." 

"Oh, its not too bad, but its not something that should be ignored. Is she your girlfriend? You seem to care a lot about her." 

"Eh??" Inuyasha blushed profusely. "Ch. . .chigou, she's not my girlfriend. I know there are a lot of boys that she likes more than me. . . "

"Ne, one-sided love?" giggled the nurse. 

"Ah! Ch-ch-ch-ch-chigou!" Inuyasha went redder than a sunburnt tomato. 

"Sure, Marekete-san. Anyway, she might have to stay in bed for a while, so I'll call her parents and tell them that she's fallen ill." 

"Un. . . "

Inuyasha sat there, worry plastered all over his face as he watched Kagome's pained face. Her brow was lined with sweat, her breathing hard and rash, as if she was struggling just to stay alive. Inuyasha leaned forward and took her hand in his. 

"Oudaijini, Kame-chan." [--take care of yourself]

~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*|*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~

I think I spelt oudaijijni wrong. If u hav the correct spelling or u kno if I got it right, plz R+R! If u find nethin else wrong plz tell me. Next chappie comin soon!

~~~~~~~~~~As a special 10t h chapter event, I'd like to list all the ppl hu made this fanfic possible ~~~~~~~~~

Amy S. T. , Presea101, Fairyangel24, Cheeselemon, kagome _chan1123456789, Sakura Blossom-Cilla-85:P, (sori if its –that- confusin, I lose track of time in my fanfic-world coz I take so long to wirte it), Jozy, Princess Inu-Yasha , Radhika14024, Inuyasha147, Kiyo, asian-anime, Rika25, Twil, Guilty4Life, Deano, DevilishGrl17 , chachi, Mika, Inuko,  deity of death1 AAAAAND.. . . . . 

An EXTRA special thank-u hug goes to Rika, for being my very first reviewer. Arigato Minna-sama!

-KC11


	11. A New Promise

IK11

Okei! KC11 reporting for duty! Project Promise me, ready for update! Start update now!!!

LoL, sori, iv just finished watching Full Metal Panic : Fumoffu so I thought now would be a good time to write Chapter 11 of my fanfic, seein as I'm got so much energy! Onegai, R+R!

New key!

=.[singing].= 

~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~*^|*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~

"Higurashi-san? Ah! Ano, this is Marekete Inuyasha. . ." Inuyasha said nervously into the phone. He had never called a friend's parent before, and was unsure of how he should talk. 

"Oh? Marekete? You mean, Shiyuki-chan's son?" 

"H-hai. . . . .. I'm calling about Kagome, she's fallen ill at school. . . . "

"Oh, hontoni? Hmm, I told her not to go, what with her throat. Ne, would you mind taking care of her for a while? Our house is being fumigated at the moment, and the hotel we booked has only 3 beds. I thought she could share a bed with her Otooto, but since she's sick, I don't think that would be too good."

"E-eh? Eto. . . it's not really my place to say if someone stays at our house or not, so you would have to ask Okaa-san or Otou-sama. . ." 

"Oh, daijoubu. Are they there?"

"Iie, I'm at school. . ." 

"Ara ara, I will call them then. I mean, I would make Souta sleep in Granpa's bed, but he simply refuses to. How can I contact your parents?" 

Inuyasha gave her his father's mobile number and hung up. Kagome still lay on the bed, her breath harsh and unsteady. Inuyasha had admired Kagome ever since he heard that her father died. ~It must hurt a lot for someone so close to you die. . .~ Suddenly Kagome gave a small groan and her eyelids flickered open. Slowly she sat up, putting a hand to her forehead. 

"W. . . what happened to me?" Kagome's voice was faint and scratchy. 

"Kagome! You're awake!" Inuyasha stood up and sat down beside her on the bed. "You came down with a fever, so I brought you here." 

"I. . Inuyasha. . . " Kagome looked at him blankly, then she turned away and blushed. "Did. . . did you really mean what you meant before?" 

Inuyasha smiled and took her into his arms. 

"Every word of it." 

Kagome was a little shocked at first, but soon found a warm, glowing comfort in his arms. His aura was similar to Sesshoumaru's, but there was something different. It was less defined, kind of fuzzy and rough, like a piece of wood that had never been touched by sandpaper in its life. Kagome felt safe there. She began to sing quietly. 

"=.[Futari ga ki-tto, deaeruyou-na maho-u wo ka-ke-te. . .].=" [--To make sure the two of us meet, I cast a spell]

Inuyasha knew that song. He heard it on TV once, it was the theme song to the anime, Chobits. 

"Ryoute wo sot-to kasane-te-ho-ra hohoemuka-ra," Kagome sang. [--Our hands are gently touch, and then look at me smile]

Inuyasha tried to sing the next line with her, but he couldn'tm quite remember the words. 

"=.[Ho-nto no ki-mo-chi, kitsukanai futishime. . .].= "  said Inuyasha, and Kagome giggled. 

"Inuyasha, the line there is kitsukanai fu'R'ishi'T'e, but close enough." Kagome moved out of Inuyasha's embrace and smiled. "=.[Totsuze-n fu-ta-ri. . .].=" [--and suddenly.,. . ..  ]

"=.[Koi ni ochitano. . . ].=" finished Inuyasha,[--we fell in love] blushing and smiling in a way that Kagome thought was undeniably kawaii. She wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned on him. 

"Inuyasha, when I get better, can you do something for me? Can you. . . promise me something?" 

"Anything, if it's for you, Kagome." 

"When I get better, kiss me." 

Inuyasha looked down at her. Her eyes were closed, but tears flowed from under her lashes. Inuyasha knew what she was crying about. The promise from 10 years ago. The promise that, even though he had racked his brains for hours, still didn't remember. 

"I. . . I promise." 

At that moment, Inuyasha's mobile rang. 

"Moshi moshi? Oh, hello Kikyo." 

Kagome could hear Kikyo's voice from where she was. 

"Yasha-chan, are we still on for Saturday?" 

"Ah, Kikyo, now isn't the best time. . . . " 

"Oh come on, Inuyasha, what could you possibly be doing that's more important than your GIRLFRIEND?" 

Inuyasha felt Kagome freeze. She released herself from him and said 1 word that made Inuyasha's blood run cold. 

"Betrayer." 

The phone dropped to the floor. ("Eh? Inuyasha? You there? Inuyasha?? Moshi moshi???") Kagome looked at him. Her eyes were rivers of tears, and behind them he could see hurt, frustration and sorrow.

"Inuyasha. . . please leave." Kagome looked away again, like she was too disgusted to even look at him. Her voice was stronger than before, though a still a bit coarse. 

"Kagom-" he began, but Kagome cut him off. 

"I. . . . I don't want to hear it.. . . .Inuyasha, just leave, please. . . " 

"Kagome! It isn't like that!" Inuyasha grasped her shoulders and faced her towards him. "Kikyo and I. . . we are just friends! Nothing more!" 

"I'm sorry Inuyasha," Kagome's expression hardened into a furious hate, "But I don't believe that." 

"Kagome! Please! Kikyo is my gangleader's girlfriend!" 

"Bull. She said she was YOUR girlfriend, Inuyasha!!" 

"Kagome, please, I-" 

"I don't care, Inuyasha! Why don't you go see KIKYO, since as you love HER and not ME."

"Kagome, I don't love Kikyo!" Inuyasha got off the bed. 

"Tell that to someone who cares! I don't even know if I love you anymore Inuyasha, seeing as you cant even remember something as important as a promise to a girl that loved you for who you were!" 

"I only loved Kikyo because . . . .  because  . . . . ." Inuyasha hesitated, unsure of whether he should say it or not. "Because she reminded me of a girl I met when I was small, a girl who cared about me even though I was a hanyou, an outcast. Despite the fact that Kikyo was completely opposite to that girl in personality, the appearance of Kikyo was enough to make me remember you. Remember that you were, that you are, and that you will always be the only one to accept me for who I am!!!!" 

Kagome fell silent for a little while. 

"Why should I believe you?" she whispered. 

"Kagome, I can't remember the promise I made to you all those years ago. I probably never will. But I make this one to you now." Inuyasha knelt down beside the bed, closed his eyes and held her hands in his. 

"I promise to make you happy when you are sad, to calm you when you stress out, Kagome. I promise to love you for who you are, not for what you do or say. Even if you marry Hojo or Kouga or even Sesshoumaru, I promise to respect that. I promise I won't make you cheat on them by making you love me, but I will support you and make sure they treat you right."

"Inuyasha.. . . . " 

Inuyasha opened his eyes and looked Kagome straight in the eye. 

"And you know what Kagome? I think I'm going to remember that one." 

Kagome looked at him, tears overflowing, and laughed. It was the first time she had truly laughed from joy. She threw herself onto him and laughed. Inuyasha's eyes widened, but then he began to laugh with her too. After the giggles subsided, Kagome said to him-

"You know what, Inuyasha? I think my fever's gone. . . "

"Well I'd better keep my promise then," he replied and kissed her passionately on the lips. 

A few seconds later, Miroku came through the door. He walked in, wondering where they could be. 

"Inuy-" Miroku stopped and smiled when he saw them. Silently he turned around and went back out through the door. In the hall, he scribbled a note and taped it to the door. As he moved away someone behind him read the sign. 

"DO NOT DISTURB." 

~^*~^*~^*~^*Later*^~*^~*^~*^~

"So. . .that's how it is. . . " said a tall, dark-haired figure, who stood next to the window, hidden in shadows. 

"Hai, U-sama," a subordinate sat a few metres in front of the ornate window, nose nearly touching the floor, completely still except for his eyes and mouth. He was the kind of person that you would immediately think of as very weak and untrustworthy, sucking up to superiors in order to get recognition. And that's exactly who he was. 

"Very well, Jaken. You may leave as soon as you tell me your source," the dark-haired man replied. 

"I got it from one of my other youkai-masters, Marekete Sesshoumaru, sir. He has a spy working for him that monitor's Inuyasha, and in turn, Kagome-sama." Jaken explained. 

"I see. Leave then." A pair of cold purple eyes stared back at him from the darkness beside the window. 

"H-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-hai U-sama!!!" Jaken leapt to his feet and scrambled out of the door. 

"Damn you, Inuyasha. Do not think you will have your happy ending just yet!" 

(switch to scene of Kagome and Inuyasha walking together, hand in hand, with U-sama's voice playing) 

"Kagome **WILL** be mine!" 

~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*|*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~

Haha!! Just when you thought it was over, ITS NOT!!! Lol, the more reviews I get, the more reason I'l hav to write the next chappie!! Com on ppl!!!


	12. Hoshikawa

IK12

Sori about before, I think there was some sort of glitch in my comp, coz when I checked over my writin agen, IT GOT DELETED!!!! GAAAAAAAH I HATE MY COMP!!!! (Gets a sledgehammer and gets ready to demolish the comp) 

"Oi. If you do that you won't be able to finish the story, and I'll be stuck in the stupid cliffhanger." [--U-sama] 

(stops an inch from the screen. . . ) Ah. . .  that's right. . . . -_-|||| just read it. . . . SO, this is my re-typed version of chap 12. not as good as it was b4, but u get al the facts u need

~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*|*^~^*~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~^*~

"Kame-Oneeeeeeeechan!!!" Kagome gave a small groan and Rin burst into the room and jumped up onto her bed. "Ohayo!" 

"Ohayo, Rin-chan. . . " Kagome rubbed her eyes sleepily and sat up. It had been 3 days since Kagome had fallen ill at school, and since the house was now being renovated due to the termite infestation, Kagome would have to stay at the Marekete house until they were finished. She was given the guest bedroom, which was at the corner of the 2nd storey, in between the bathroom and Rin's room. 

"Rin woke up extra early today coz Sesshoumaru-oniichan said he was going to leave early!" Rin told her, "Rin wanted to see him off! I dunno where he's going though. Oh! And Rin found this outside your door!" Rin handed Kagome a small cream-coloured envelope with her name in very neat Kanji. 

Inside the envelope was a short but incredibly neat letter. Every single stoke seemed to have elegance and dignity woven a million times over into it. 

"Sugoi. . . " Kagome read the letter in silence, as that was the atmosphere she felt was right. 

~^*letter*^~

Kagome-san, 

It has come to my attention that your life is in danger. I do not know whom, but a very powerful and dangerous man is planning to kidnap you sometime during the next month. I am not sure how this came about, but I beg of you; please be careful. I cannot tell you this in person, for Inuyasha would start getting curious. I will try my best to protect you without arising suspicion. If he asks about it, please reassure him that it is nothing more than his imagination. This is for your own safety. 

Sincerely, 

Marekete Sesshoumaru

~^*end letter*^~

Kagome dropped the letter when she had finished reading it. Rin had disappeared somewhere, probably to go wake up Inuyasha. ~W. . . why? Why me?~ Kagome wondered, ~What did I do? I don't think I did anything. . . . well . . . except for starting to go out with Inuyasha. . . . ~ 

~^*~^*~^*~^*FLASHBACK*^~*^~^*~^*~

"O. . . oi, Kagome," Inuyasha leaned on the doorframe as Kagome unpacked in her new temporary room. "A. . . a. . . a. .. . " 

"Nani, Inuyasha? Hayaku, ne?" [--what, Inuyasha? quickly, ok?] said Kagome as she transferred clothes from her suitcase to a nearby stack of drawers. 

"A. . . are you busy this weekend?" he blurted it out. The lightest shade of pink appeared in Kagome's cheeks. 

"Ah. . .Iie. .  . Nandayo?" [--no, why?] Kagome kept her eyes on the clothes, rather than Inuyasha. 

"I was wondering. . . . do you want to catch a movie with me or something?" Inuyasha turned away from her. 

"Kya~~~ Inu-chan, are you asking me out?" Kagome stood up and began to walk to him. 

"Eh!!! Uh. . . Ano. .  . .Chi. . chig-. . .*sigh*" Inuyasha was about to say "chigou"., but thought better of it. He looked down at her and smiled. "Hai, that's exactly what I'm doing. So, you wanna catch that movie?" 

Kagome turned a little so that she could just see him out of the corner of her eye. "Well . . . if that's the case. .  ." She turned, showing him her happiest smile ever, "HAI!!!!!" and she threw her arms around him. 

~^*~^*~^*~^*END FLASHBACK*^~*^~*^~*^~

As Kagome picked up the envelope to put the letter back, she noticed for the first time that there was small, heavy object inside it. Curiousity got the better of her and she reached in. She withdrew the object and gasped. 

Inside the envelope was a silver chain. On that silver chain was a sliver of black crystal, encased in pill-shaped glass. As the glass came in contact with her palm, the jewel inside shimmered, the colour changing rapidly from black to silver, white, yellow, green, blue, purple, red and finally tinting to a soft pink colour.

"Waaaaaai. .  . kire. . . " [--pretty] Kagome slipped the jewel around her neck. Suddenly, a vibration shot through her, making her feel like she needed to read the letter again. Opening the paper again, she was shocked to realise that the writing had changed. 

~^*letter*^~

P.S. Don't worry about the changed writing. It is a simple spell put on the necklace I gave you to tell me that you have received it. Also, the necklace is a way of letting me know where you are; I have a similar one as well. You must have felt the strange "intuition" wave that passed through you when you put it on. That was me telling you to read the letter again. Feelings can be transferred through the jewels at the owner's discretion, but only if those feeling are very strong. Once the necklace has been activated it will usually turn a different colour according to the amount of purity. I can't say much else here, in case this message is intercepted. Meet me where the river meets the stars. 

~^*end letter*^~

~'Meet me where the river meets the stars'?~ Kagome read the phrase over a couple of times. It was written in English, so it took a while for her to understand it.  ~What could that mean? Star. . . what was that? Hoshi? River. . .. kawa? Kawahoshi. . . where is that?~

Kagome put it aside in her mind to think about later. Right now school was more important. 

~^*~^*half an hour later*^~*^~

 "Inuyasha!!!! Hayaku hayaku!!!!" [--hurry hurry] Kagome was standing outside, yelling at Inuyasha's window. 

"Hai. . . hai. . . " an irritated grumble echoed back to her. 

"HONESTLY, Inuyasha, I don't know how you managed without me before!" Kagome turned around and started walking to school. ~That baka. . . he's such an idiot, but there's something about him that makes him. . . . . irreplaceable. . .~ Softly she smiled and looked happily up to the sky. 

"Kagome-chan!" Kagome looked around and found that one of her friends, Eri, was calling her from the other side of the street. 

"Ohayo, Eri-chan!" Kagome replied as she crossed the road to meet her. 

"Ohayo to you too. I didn't know you walked this way to school! I thought you lived on the other side this area. . . " 

"U.. . . . uh. . . well. . . " Kagome panicked. ~Oh no!!! What am I supposed to do?? I don't want to lie to her, but I can't tell her that I'm living with Inuyasha!!~ "Well, my house is being renovated at the moment, so I'm living with a family friend." 

"Oh. . ." Eri thought about this for a while, then said, "Ne, ne, who are you staying with? I might know them if they live around me."  

"Uuuuuuuhhhhhhh. . . ." that panicky feeling grew stronger. "They. . . they only moved in a few weeks ago, so I don't think you'd know them .. . . " 

"Probably. The only family that's moved in recently is the Marekete family; you know, Sesshoumaru-oujisama and Inuyasha from Sango-chan's class. Haha! I can't even imagine you living there!" [--oujisama = prince] 

"U. . . .un! Ah. . . nani? Oujisama??!?!? Eri-chan, don't tell me you've fallen for Sesshoumaru like everyone else?!?!?!" 

"Nandayo? [--why?] He's so handsome, plus he's poetic, athletic, not to mention he's so –dignified- compared  to all the other boys. . . " 

Eri continued to tell Kagome all about what Sesshoumaru had done ever since he had arrived at the school. 

"Ne, Eri-chan," Kagome interrupted as Eri told her about how Sesshoumaru had out touch-typed Kibiko Masao, the legendary boy computer expert who hacked into the Yakuza mainframe and who is still under Social Security protection. "Do you know even ONE bad thing about him?" 

"Uuuuuuuummmm. . .. . . " Eri's mind wandered as they walked through the school gates. "Nope!" 

"Uh. . . ok then.. . .ja ne!" [--see ya] Kagome waved her goodbye and ran over to where Sango and Miroku were sitting. "Ohayo!!" 

Sesshoumaru watched the black-haired girl ran from friend to friend. A small glimmer of pink caught his eye as she necklace bounced off her collarbone and into view. Sighing in relief, he leaned back on the bench he was sitting on. ~I hope that she figures out my clue~ Sesshoumaru pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket. ~Just in case, though~ His eyes ran over his own writing – "Hoshikawa Park – 3pm" 

"Oi, Sess!" Komaiyo, one of his youkai friends who attended the school, called him. "Hayaku! Meeting!" 

"Hai. . ." He stood up, and for a brief moment, Komaiyo could have sworn that Sesshoumaru's form flickered before his eyes.

"Se. . . Sesshoumaru? Daijoubu ka?" [--Are you okay?] Komaiyo put a hand on Sesshoumaru's shoulder and looked at his eyes. He looked normal. But what was that flicker?

"Hai, Daijoubu." [--I'm okay | why?--] "Nandayo? Do I look weird?" Sesshoumaru zipped up his school bag and walked ahead of Komaiyo. ~Damn, I can't believe he noticed!~ Sesshoumaru looked over at Kagome's bag, where his piece of paper lay. ~I'm getting slower. ~ 

~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*|*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~

SORRY this took so long, I completely forgot what I had written last time, so I had trouble re-typing it so it would fit with chap 13. . .  


	13. Hakashino Aikono

IK13  
  
OK! I think I just screwd sumthin up. PPL! Do you memba the dark-haired man from a coupl chaps ago? U-sama? Well I'm giving him crimson eyes instead of pruple eyes, ok? RED!!! AKAI!!!! R-E-D~~!!!  
  
(the day in this chapter is Wednesday afternoon, just to let you know)  
  
and sori bout the inu/kag bit, I'll try and make it make a bit more sense. hang on. did that make sense?  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*|*^~^*~*^~^*~^*~*^~^*~^*~  
  
"Hakashino, is everything in place?" the red-eyed man sat at a desk in the middle of a room and tapped away at a keyboard, which was attached to a screen that took up an entire wall. A window popped up in the corner of the screen. Inside it was a purple-haired, green-eyed female youkai. She wore a red headband, which was a sign of leadership in her tribe.  
  
"Hai, U-sama. The target is moving towards the expected destination now." Hakashino made a map pop up next to her face. The map showed a flashing dot moving towards a red square labelled "Aoi no Hana HS".  
  
"Excellent. Move out."  
  
"Ryoukai." [--roger] Hakashino's window closed and U-sama leaned back on his chair. ~Watch out Inuyasha. I will soon show you what it means to take something of mine~  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*Kagome^*~*^~*^~*^~  
  
"Sesshoumaru. . . where are you?" Kagome sat on a bench at Hoshikawa park, just as the note had said. "We were meant to meet here, right? Honestly, standing up someone who had to promise an over-protective dog that she wasn't going to do anything weird is so RUDE!"  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*FLASHBACK*^~*^~*^~*^~ (I'm into these things agen)  
  
"Kagome-chan, Nani wa. . . ?" [--what is. . .] Sango pointed to Kagome's bag. A small folded piece of paper laying innocently on her bag. A wave of curiousity came over her, like it always did, so she walked over and read it aloud.  
  
"Hoshikawa Park, 3pm," Inuyasha snatched it from her hand and instantly recognised the writing.  
  
"Why is Sesshoumaru sending you notes?" He gave Kagome a hurt/curious/suspicious look.  
  
"K. . .kore?" [--this?] For the third time that morning, a rush of panic coursed through her veins. ~BAKA SESSHOUMARU! Now what am I supposed to do??~  
  
"O! Kagome!!" Miroku gave her a strange grin, "Could it be. . . ? You're two-timing??" Sango hit him with a ruler.  
  
"Nani wa kore?" [--what is this?] Kagome put a hand on her hip. "I don't even know where this came from! The wind probably just blew it there."  
  
"O. . . oh. . ." Inuyasha still looked a little hurt, as though he didn't believe what she had said.  
  
"Anyway, we'd better hurry up and get to class, the bell's going to ring soon." Kagome picked up her bag and walked into the building, cheeks glowing pink.  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*END FLASHBACK*^~^*~*^~*^~  
  
~I really shouldn't have come. . .~ A clump of guilt nestled in her throat as she looked up at the sky for the billionth time out of boredom. ~Inuyasha is probably wondering why I haven't come home yet.. . . but I love him so much, it was like love at first sight when he said "Kame-chan" to me. . . ~ She recalled that warm, soaring feeling in her heart when she finally knew that her Inu-chan had returned.  
  
"Kagome-san?" Sesshoumaru had finally come. Kagome nodded to him and shuffled over a bit on the park bench. "You read the letter, right?" he asked as he sat down.  
  
"Hai," Kagome looked at him despairingly. "But I still don't quite understand."  
  
"Well, to put in simpl-" Sesshoumaru stopped mid-sentence and froze. His eyes searched the trees around the park. "Kagome-san, do not move." He moved along the park bench so that he was right next to her. His hand reached down into his pocket and he pulled out what looked like a miniature version of a sword.  
  
"Nani, Sesshoumaru?" Kagome tried to create a gap between them. She didn't quite like the idea of him being so close.  
  
Suddenly, Sesshoumaru's hand glowed red, and the miniature sword elongated and widened until it was about as long as Kagome's arm.  
  
"Chotto matte!" [--Wait a sec!] Kagome stood up and pointed angrily at the sword. "What exactly is THAT for?"  
  
"GET DOWN!" Sesshoumaru grabbed the hem of Kagome's shirt and pulled her behind him while putting up his sword in front of him. A poinsonous-looking purple needle ricocheted off the blade with a loud CLANG.  
  
"Ha ha ha ha," a cold, high voice echoed thoughout the park. "So, it seems you've been expecting me, Marekete Sesshoumaru-kun. Unfortunately, that alone won't be enough. . . "  
  
Another set of needles flew at them from the right. Sesshoumaru blocked them all with the sword.  
  
"Oh? Very good, Sesshou-chan. . . " the voice continued to move around them. It was just short of impossible to pinpoint where it was coming from. "But enough playing around. Let's get serious, okay?"  
  
A flurry of dust swirled up around them. Kagome buried her face on the inside of her shirt to avoid the dirt. When it settled, a green-eyed teenager was before them. Her purple hair swished elegantly around her face as she raised a hand to in front of her face. A thread of hair detached itself from her head and separated into 4 small strands, which then flew to each of her fingers. (not including the thumb)  
  
"Needles?" Kagome peeked out from behind Sesshoumaru.  
  
"That's right, Higurashi Kagome," the girl smiled evilly at her.  
  
"Name yourself, youkai-yarou," [--demon bastard] Sesshoumaru snarled.  
  
"Hmph. So -rude-. . . " she flicked back her hair with the needle-less hand. "Hakashino Aikono. I was sent by U-sama to collect her." Aikono pointed to Kagome.  
  
Sesshoumaru noticeably tensed and shifted position. He was prepared to fight if he needed to. Kagome looked away. She shouldn't be relying on Sesshoumaru for protection. The one she really wanted to come was. . . .  
  
"DIE, BAKA YAROU!!!"[--stupid bastard] Inuyasha came flying from the sky and slashed the female youkai just as she dodged. Landing on the ground with a grin, he looked up at the girl he attacked. "Long time no see, Aiko- kun."  
  
"Inu-sama!" Hakashino immediately dropped down on one knee respectfully. "Sumimasen!" [--Sorry/Excuse me]  
  
"Who sent you after Kagome?" Inuyasha stood up and dusted his hands off. He was still dressed in his school uniform.  
  
"U. . . .U-sama!!" he stammered. Obviously he was either scared of Inuyasha or held him in very high regard.  
  
"That's not his real name, is it Aiko?" Inuyasha walked towards the trembling youkai. "I know you better than anyone else here. Tell the truth!"  
  
"U. . . U-sama's real name is. . . ." she knew this was going to get her in trouble, but she didn't want to disobey her former sensei. Mustering all her strength, she yelled "Naraku!"  
  
Inuyasha froze. ~Naraku?~ Quickly he turned to Kagome and said "MOVE! SESSHOUMARU! GET HER OUT OF HERE!"  
  
Sesshoumaru gave him the weirdest look, but grabbed Kagome around the waist and jumped to the top of the nearest building.  
  
"What's going on?" Kagome peered over the edge of the building to where Inuyasha was still looking around warily. Instantly she paled, for she was at the top of one of the tallest buildings in the area. Slowly she walked back to the safety of being next to Sesshoumaru.  
  
"Naraku is the leader of the local Yakuza ring," Sesshoumaru searched the park with his eyes.  
  
"Yakuza? You mean those mafia people that Kibiko-kun hacked to?" She then noticed that Sesshoumaru had put his arm around her waist again. (*insert anime twitch here*)  
  
"Hai. He's also an incredible powerful youkai. I'm not sure why he'd-" Kagome planted a slap across his jaw.  
  
"Move your arm." (*twitch twitch*) After he had removed his arm, her twitch faded away and got replaced with concern. "Youkai, ne? I didn't know that there were that many in Tokyo."  
  
"Oh, we're just a small community compared to all the Youkai that work as geishas in Kyoto."  
  
"G-geishas?!?!" Kagome felt faint. "How come no-one discovers you?"  
  
"Have you ever read "Harry Potter"? We have youkai that are able to erase memories, and special schools for those with youkai blood. Plus, only 10 or so humans in the whole of Japan know about youkai. Most of the time not even the mothers know about it."  
  
"Oh. . . ." Kagome was kind of excited. She knew a HUGE secret that barely anyone else knew!  
  
"There!" Sesshoumaru pointed across the park to a swirling black mass. It moved faster than anything Kagome had ever seen. In less than a second it had placed itself between Inuyasha and Hakashino. The black shroud whipped away, revealing a tall, red-eyed, dark-haired man. Though he looked like a man, he had strange armour on, and these grey spiky wings on his back.  
  
"You called?" He turned to Hakashino and smiled evilly.  
  
"U.. . . . .U-sama!" Hakashino leapt back in fear, but since she had been crouching, she stumbled, and fell back down.  
  
"Hakashino Aikono. . . you spoke my name, did you not?" Naraku (AKA U-sama) started walking towards her. Whimpering in fear, she scrambled backwards, but her foot caught on a rock and she fell again.  
  
"Were you, perhaps, calling for reinforcements?" he came ever closer to the terrified girl. "Because you know how much I don't like being called in as a replacement. . . "  
  
"Chigou U-sama!!!"  
  
"Or maybe. . . you were telling them who I was, so that you could live just a little longer?" Slowly, he unsheathed a long, deadly-looking sword from its scabbard and kept walking. "Or maybe you told them who I was because you didn't want to disappointed your precious Inu-sama. . . "  
  
"Chi-chigou!" A red tear ran down her cheek. She stopped trying to run and simply sat there, knowing she couldn't escape.  
  
"Shine. . . [--Die(think shi-ne, not shine)]. . .Hakashino. . . ." he whispered, eyes sparkling with incredible malice. He brought the sword down, but -  
  
SHLANG! (=P)  
  
Inuyasha had brought out a sword and blocked Naraku's attack. Hackles raised, he growled menacingly.  
  
"Aiko-kun! Hashire!" [--run] Inuyasha didn't take his eyes off Naraku. Aiko didn't say anything, but she scrambled to her feet and jumped as high as she could. Inuyasha didn't really like Aiko, but she shouldn't be slaughtered so helplessly.  
  
"Kukuku. . . " Naraku's grin widened. He took one hand off the hilt of the sword and raised it towards Aikono. "Good, but not good enough!" A purple energy ball erupted from his hand and shot straight at Hakashino. Inuyasha looked up.  
  
"AIKO!!!!" he sprung off the ground in a desperate attempt to save her, but it was too late. She looked back just in time to see a flash of purple before it caught her in the stomach; tearing a hole in her. Aiko glanced at Inuyasha for a brief moment and flashed him a smile before disintegrating. Inuyasha fell back to the ground.  
  
"NA. . . .RA. . . KU!!!!!" Inuyasha looked back to where Naraku was standing, but all he saw was the last flicker of black whisk out of sight.  
  
Sesshoumaru got Kagome and jumped back down to Inuyasha. Kagome ran to him as soon as they touched the ground. Sesshoumaru ran a hand through his hair. ~oh boy. . .~ he looked around to check if anyone was looking. ~This is going to take a lot of explaining. . . ~  
  
"Inuyasha!!! What happened?! Are you okay?!?!" She tugged on his sleeve out of habit.  
  
"Hai. . . " His voice was oddly distant and hollow.  
  
"Come on, let's go home." Sesshoumaru leapt out of the park, sending up a small dust cloud in his wake. Kagome sighed and gave Inuyasha a hug.  
  
"Gomen nasai, Inu," Kagome closed her eyes and leaned on his shoulder. "I. . . I. . . "  
  
"Don't worry Kagome. Aiko. . . she was just. . . unlucky. . " Inuyasha wrapped an arm around her waist and shot up out of the park, sheathing the sword he used to block Naraku before.  
  
"Demo. . . [--but. . .] . . . she died because of me. . " She looked away from Inuyasha.  
  
"Chigou," Inuyasha kept his eyes focused on Sesshoumaru's back. He didn't know the way back properly, so he would have to follow his brother. "She died because I made her say. . . his name."  
  
At dinner that night the air was usually somber. Not only was Kagome still under threat, but someone had lost their life because of it. Even though no one knew Aiko except Inuyasha, and even then Aiko was Inuyasha's subordinate, they felt guilty for Naraku taking her life. Inuyasha's okaasan, Shiyuki, felt the tension and was very uncomfortable.  
  
"S-so, Kagome, how's your Okaa-san these days?" she asked, trying to make conversation.  
  
"She's okay. I guess she's a bit busy with housework, but I don't think that's too taxing on her health." Kagome took another sashimi from the dish in the middle and ate it quietly. Shiyuki sighed. ~I guess she's still upset about her Otousan's death. . .~  
  
"Thank you for the meal." Kagome silently packed her bowls and plates into a stack and carried them to the sink. As she ran some water over them to rinse them off, she heard Inuyasha come in behind her. She turned around and they looked at each other for a little while. She brushed past him and hurried to her room.  
  
Tears spilled out as she landed on her bed. ~Why?!! Why does it have to be ME that gets all the threats?!? What did I do?!~ sitting up, she pulled her nearby teddy bear and hugged it to her. ~If I don't do something soon, someone else might die too. . . ~ Kagome heard someone coming up the stairs, so she quickly slid under the covers and pretended to sleep.  
  
Inuyasha stopped outside Kagome's room. The door was open so he peered in, seeing her lying still on her bed. Guilt clogged his throat. He tried not to cry, but despite his efforts a single tear ran solemnly down his cheek.  
  
"O. . . oyasumi, Kame-chan. It wasn't your fault. . ."  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*|*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~  
  
That's chap 13 4 ya! Oh and to Turnings Ander -  
  
Hajimemashite! Chigou, atashi wa firipinjin to chuugokujin desu, demo Oosutoraria ni sunde imasu. Yokata! - anata wa atashi no "story" ga dai suki! Arigato gozaimashita! Watashi no honto (Katakana) namae wa Anjira, demo are wa himitsu!^.~ Eto. . . demo nani wa "doushite" desu ka? 


	14. Choices

IK14  
  
Heehee, I did this one all in one day^.~  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*|*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~  
  
"Kagome-oneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeechan!!!!!" Rin ran down the hallway and slammed into the guest room door with such force that it bounced back off the wall. Bolting into the room she pounced up onto the end of Kagome's bed. "Ohayo gozaimaaaaaaasu!!!"  
  
Kagome sat up groggily and smiled at Inuyasha's little sister. Rubbing her eyes, she yawned as Rin hopped off the bed and drew back the curtains. It was always the same every morning.  
  
"Ohayo, Rin-chan, what time is it?" Kagome reached for the glass of water pon her bedside table. ~I've been at Inuyasha's house for a while now. Mama said she would pick me up when the fumigation was over. . .but the fumigation people said that we would have to rebuild part of the shine. Stupid termites.~ Kagome sighed. ~ I guess its not all bad.~  
  
"Um. . . .Onee-chan, Rin doesn't know how to tell the time. Oh! I know someone who can, though!" Rin pulled a small silver marble-sized thing from the sleeve of her kimono and bounced it three times on the floor. On the third bounce, it gave a small "pyon!" and transformed into a .. . . . . fairy?  
  
"Ohayo Rin-sama! Pixie-chan is ready to work!" Pixie-chan was a mini human that stood 10cm high, with a bright pink skirt and top. Her translucent wings were shaped just like butterfly wings. She fluttered around Rin's head before Rin held out her hand for her to stand on.  
  
"Rin wants to know the time!" Rin chirped as the little fairy landed gracefully on her hand. Kagome couldn't help it.  
  
"WAAAAII!!!! TOTEMO KAWAII!!!!!!" Kagome squealed, hopping off the bed and looking at Pixie-chan with glassy eyes.  
  
"The time is 5:31am!" said Pixie-chan, after checking her tiny wristwatch. Kagome froze. "Is there anything else, Rin-sama??"  
  
"Iie, that's all for now," Rin tapped Pixie-chan three times on the head and it transformed back into the silver ball.  
  
"5. . . . 31. . . . am . . . . " Kagome muttered, (._., . . .) "So early. . . ."  
  
"Oi, what's with all this noise so early in the morning?!" Inuyasha stumbled over to Kagome's room, leaning on the doorframe out of lack of sleep.  
  
"Sumimasen, Inu-chan," Kagome winked mischievously at her new boyfriend, "Rin-chan just wanted to say "ohayo", that's all." Inuyasha gave a sigh that woke him up. But behind Kagome's smile was a whole different world of depression. Disguising her sadness was one of her few traits.  
  
"Ne, Kagome, since tomorrow's a Saturday, do you wanna go to the movies or something?" Inuyasha was feeling a lot more confident about Kagome now, so he walked over and sat next to her on the bed. He could feel that Kagome was still uneasy about the kidnapping thing.  
  
"O. . .. okay. . . " Kagome blushed a little, but moved her hand and entwined it with hers. "Ne, do you remember? This is how you used to sit when you came to see me when I was sick. Mama wouldn't let you in, but you waited outside, knocking politely on the door until she did. . . hahaha. . . " Kagome leaned against Inuyasha, who put his arms around her.  
  
"A-hem!" Sesshoumaru had come by. "Kagome, may I talk to you privately for a moment?"  
  
"Uh. . . " Kagome looked at Inuyasha, waiting for his reaction. He shrugged. What was Sesshoumaru playing at? "Hai, I guess so. . . . "  
  
Inuyasha got up, gave Kagome a peck on the cheek and left the room. Sesshoumaru walked in and drew the chair from under Kagome's study table.  
  
"Kagome," Sesshoumaru began, "I assume you know about the kidnapping situation."  
  
(Kagome - T_T' . . . . )  
  
"Un. . . " Kagome looked down at her lap and fiddled with the covers. Painful memories rushed back into her mind. She wasn't used to seeing people die. "Why?"  
  
"As for that, I'm not quite sure. Have you done anything in the last 3 weeks or so that could have provoked this?" Sesshoumaru's face was still and impassive as ever.  
  
"Not that I can think of. . ." Kagome started to think. "Unless you count starting going out with Inuyasha provocative."  
  
"Well, we can rule out the possibility of jealousy."  
  
"WHAT?!!?!?! Are you telling me that someone is going to kidnap me just because I like Inuyasha??" Kagome was almost numb with disbelief.  
  
"It seems so." Sesshoumaru sighed impatiently. "Kagome, I know this might sound weird coming from a youkai like me, but you are quite attractive. For a human that is." He added, just to make sure that she didn't misunderstand him. "Someone, probably someone very powerful, could have fallen for you and will try to take you at any cost."  
  
"You seems to know a lot about this, Sesshoumaru," Kagome raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "How did you that someone is going to kidnap me in the first place?"  
  
"I have contacts. Very. . . -good- contacts."  
  
Kagome looked away from Sesshoumaru.  
  
"So what can I do about it?" She asked. She was getting that horrible, depressing, uselessness feeling again.  
  
"Well, as far as I can see, you have three options. 1, you could hire a professional bodyguard team; 2, you could let yourself get kidnapped or 3, you could simply break up with Inuyasha, therefore stopping the jealousy factor."  
  
" . . . . . " Kagome lay back down on the bed and turned away from Sesshoumaru. "You can leave now. I need to think."  
  
"As you wish." Sesshoumaru got up and walked out of the room, pausing at the door. "Kagome, just as a warning, if you get kidnapped, you might not be able to see this place ever again."  
  
Kagome said nothing. Sesshoumaru bid her goodbye and left just as Inuyasha walked back in.  
  
"Kagome! What ha-" Inuyasha stopped. He could hear small sobs coming Kagome, who was turned away from him. Growling, he ran back out the room and after Sesshoumaru. ~Baka yarou!!!~ [--stupid bastard] he searched the whole of the upstairs level only to find that he was downstairs. ~How dare he make Kagome cry!~  
  
Inuyasha found Sesshoumaru downstairs eating a bowl of Cornflakes and reading a book on ancient Japanese literature. Inuyasha walked over and slammed the table with both hands, splashing milk onto the tablecloth and a little on his brother. Sesshoumaru looked up from his book.  
  
"What now?" Carefully he picked up a silver ribbon from the table, placed it on the page he was reading and closed the book.  
  
"What did you say to Kagome?!?!?!?!" Inuyasha snarled.  
  
"Only what she needed to know. If I didn't tell her she would probably be gone by tomorrow." Sesshoumaru replied, getting up and crossing to the kitchen.  
  
"You made her cry!!!!" the Hanyou dug his nails into the wooden table, leaving large dents in it.  
  
"Oh, she cried? She must be taking my last option then. Pity. I could have helped her." It was hard to tell whether he was being sarcastic or not. "Do not worry little brother. She will be fine. I will go talk to her as soon as I am finished here."  
  
"WHAT DID YOU TELL HER?!?!?" he roared, right up in Sesshoumaru's face.  
  
"Hmph. Stop worrying. If you want me to make her stop crying then you can help by cleaning up the mess you made." Sesshoumaru took out a handtowel from the linen cupboard and handed it to Inuyasha. With that, he headed upstairs back to Kagome's room.  
  
"Kagome? What's wrong?" He said quietly as he entered the room. Kagome was sitting at her table, face in hands, crying.  
  
"Se. . . Se. . . . Sesshoumaru . . . " she managed between sobs, "What am I going to do? I don't want to get kidnapped. I don't want to break up with Inuyasha."  
  
"Well, what about the bodyguard option?" Sesshoumaru knelt down beside kagome and pulled her hands away from her face. "Its okay. Like I said before, I have good contacts. I can get you a team assembled by tomorrow if I'm lucky."  
  
"H. . . . hontoni?" [--really?]  
  
"Yep. I just hope you don't mind be surrounded by a bunch of male youkai for a while." Said Sesshoumaru, standing up again. Kagome twitched.  
  
"Sesshoumaru, as a request, could you -possibly- make them female bodyguards?" she twitched again. "I'd kinda. . . . not prefer to be surrounded by guys again . . . "  
  
He paused. He knew from experience that female bodyguards didn't really like working for a female. Let alone being hired under the pretence that she'd be working for a male, only to find out that she's been deceived, and has to work for a -human- female.  
  
"I'm not sure that will work. Female youkai bodyguards aren't really the. . . 'friendly' type," replied Sesshoumaru. "For one, they prefer to-"  
  
"GAH! Never mind. I'm sure Kouga will be more than happy to guard me for a while."  
  
"Kouga's a male though, I thought you wanted a female."  
  
"Ah. .. . . . that's right. . . "  
  
"There is. . . . one. . . more option . .. . . but its incredibly dangerous. And reckless. Not to mention you might never be the same again. I didn't want to mention it before, because it should only be used in extreme cases. "  
  
"To me, this IS an extreme case!!!!!!!" Kagome leapt up and grabbed Sesshoumaru by the shoulders. "I don't care how dangerous it is. I just don't want to break up with Inuyasha!!!"  
  
"Hmm. We shall see in time. Meet me in Kurodaki Park after school; we can't use Hoshikawa again, its probably being watched. Come on, we're going to be late."  
  
Kagome looked at her watch and panicked. 8:30!!!!! ~IMPOSSIBLE!!!!~ Kagome screamed in her head and ran around the room, trying to get ready for school muttering "I'm late I'm late I'm late I'm late I'm late!!!!" When she looked back at where Sesshoumaru stood, she saw him already dressed for school. He was doing up the buttons on the end of his shirt sleeve and his hair needed a brush but otherwise he was pretty much ready to go.  
  
"Kagome, ikuzo!" [--Lets go] Inuyasha's voice floated from the front to her window.  
  
"Uh, Hai!! Matte Inuyasha!!" [--ok! Wait!] she called back, leaving the red flare of material on her shirt to tie up later. Grabbing her bag, she held down her skirt as she leapt swiftly out the window into Inuyasha's waiting arms. "Iko!" [--lets go(shortened)]  
  
Inuyasha told her to hang on tight as he took off into the morning air. Sesshoumaru watched them from Kagome's window, and for a while, his eyes seemed to soften from their usual cold an emotionless state. They were filled with. . . comfort. . .sadness. . . almost. . . longing. . . But not a kinda of longing for Kagome, a longing for that sort of affection, for that trust that they shared with each other. After Mai's death, Sesshoumaru had never quite been the same.  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*FLASHBACK*^~*^~*^~*^~  
  
"Se-chan? What's this fluffy thing?" a small, female, red-eyed youkai tugged on an 8-year-old Sesshoumaru's sleeve and pointed to the long furry thing he always draped on his shoulder. The little girl was named Mai.  
  
"That thing? I don't know. You'd have to ask Otou-sama." Sesshoumaru replied.  
  
"Oh. I don't really mind what its called, but it's really soft and warm." Mai took it off Sesshoumaru's shoulder and hugged it to her. A crimson blush crept onto his face.  
  
"M-Mai-chan. . ." He quickly turned the other way.  
  
"Ne, Ne, Se-chan! I got a new name for you!!" said Mai, putting back the thing and running around to look Sesshoumaru in the face.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"FLUFFY-CHAN!!!" she yelled and hugged Sesshoumaru as though he was the last person on Earth.  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*END FLASHBACK*^~^*~*^~*^~  
  
He shook his head and stood on the windowsill. ~Dammit, Mai, why did you have to chase after that ball on the road? I. . . I never got to tell you how I felt. . . ~ Sesshoumaru felt a strange prickling in the corner of his eyes. ~What's done is done. All I can do now is to watch what happens from here.~ With that, he pushed off the windowsill into the morning air.  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*At School*^~*^~*^~*^~  
  
Kagome spent the whole day wonder what Sesshoumaru was going to show her. She would have had Inuyasha guard her, but he would probably go psycho at every person who every talked to her. Now she was at Kurodaki Park, just like he had said.  
  
~^*~^*Kagome's Imagination*^~*^~  
  
"Oh, Kagome! I need to borrow you notes from history coz-"  
  
"OI!!!! YOU!!! Get away from her!!!!!!"  
  
~*Inuyasha slashes the person to pieces with his claws*~  
  
~^*~^*Reality*^~^*~  
  
Kagome didn't really want that to happen. ~What could be taking Sesshoumaru so long to get here? He did say meet after school. . . .~ Kagome checked the time on the big clock in the middle of the park. ~4 oclock. . . its not like Sesshoumaru to be late like this.~  
  
~^*~^*Sesshoumaru*^~*^~  
  
"Konnichiwa, Mai-chan. . ." Sesshoumaru stood in a graveyard, where his beloved Mai was laid to rest. Looking down at the stone tablet, a wave of pure sorrow swept over him. "How have you been?"  
  
He looked at the cement block that had "Tsumade Mai" encrypted onto its face as though he expected an answer. Sighing, he lay down a small pink crystal in the offering slot near the base.  
  
"Rose Quartz," He murmured. "It was your favourite, right? Ha, not surprising that its supposed to bring you love." He stood up, bowed to the grave and turned to leave.  
  
"Fluffy-chan. . ."  
  
Sesshoumaru slowly turned around and gasped. There, sitting at the base of the stone, was Mai. She was stark white, dressed in a simple white kimono. the only colour that showed was her ruby red eyes.  
  
"Doumo. . ." she rested a translucent hand on the crystal. Her voice was whispery and distant. "Heehee. . .you grew up a lot, ne?" Mai stood up and looked Sesshoumaru in the eye. "I never got to tell you, but. . ."  
  
A truck passed by and blared its horn. Sesshoumaru glanced over, but when he turned back to where Mai stood, she was gone.  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*|*^~*^~*^~^*~^*~*^~*^~*^~  
  
Meh. . . I kno I didn't reeli get to Kagome meetin Sess, but I think its too long already. .. . .. just end it here . . .lol, cya nxt chap!^.~ 


	15. Kuroi Kumo no Tama

IK15  
  
Kwa. . . . so tired. . . but neway, keep reading! Hopefully I wont lose this one. . . .  
  
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Sesshoumaru walked silently into the park where he had promised to meet Kagome. Thoughts buzzed through his head like a hive of mosquitoes on a humid summer night. ~What was that? Mai-chan? Was that really her? Or was I just seeing things that my mind willed me to see?~  
  
"Sesshoumaru!" Kagome stood up from the park bench and ran over to him. "What kept you?"  
  
"Sumimasen, [--excuse me/sorry] I had to go visit. . . an old friend. . ." Sesshoumaru searched through his pockets. "You still have the necklace I gave you, right?"  
  
"Un," Kagome pulled it out from under her shirt. "What are you doing to do with it?"  
  
"Pass it here, I'll show you something." He seemed to find what he was looking for, because he smiled and pulled a small black stone from his left pocket and took Kaagome's necklace. Carefully he placed the pendant on the rock and held it firmly with one hand. "Kagome, put your hand on mine."  
  
"N-n-n-n-n-nani!??!?! I already told you, I like INUYASHA!! I-NU-YA-SHA!" Kagome took a step or so back.  
  
"Kagome! I don't mean it like that!!! Just trust me!" Sesshoumaru's hands were beginning to shimmer a silveresque colour.  
  
"A. . . alright. . ." cautiously she edged forwards and extended her hand. As soon as her fingertip came in contact with his hand, a shiver ran through her spine. Her immediate impulse was to pull her hand back, but she couldn't! For some reason she was simply unable to bring her hand away from Sesshoumaru's.  
  
The world around her seemed to fade into a strange pastel pink. Kagome couldn't even feel Sesshoumaru's hand under hers. Looking around, Kagome realised that the 'walls' that were around her were round, as if she was in a ball.  
  
"Where. . . where am I?" Her voice echoed eerily around her.  
  
"You are in a transitional dimension." She heard Sesshoumaru's voice, but it wsn't exactly what you would call sound. It was more like he was in her head, voice bouncing off the walls of her mind.  
  
"A -what-?" when Kagome spoke, her voice didn't quite come from her. She felt as hough her voice was all around her, not in her.  
  
"A transitional dimension. Did you not say that you would do anything to not break up with Inuyasha?" Kagome was getting those weird chills up her back again.  
  
"Wh-What am I supposed to do?" Kagome spun around in her little ball, but all she saw was black with swirls of pink moving continuously through it.  
  
"You see the walls around you? They are the two stones I was holding. The pink is your jewel, a Shikon no Kakera. [--shikon shard] the black is my Kuroi Kumo no Tama, [--Jewel of Black Clouds], a stone that few youkai possess, because it has the ability to transform humans into youkai, and vice versa."  
  
"You mean. . . you're turning me into a youkai?"  
  
"Ha! If only it was that simple. I am merely altering your pendant so you can defend yourself from most youkai."  
  
"What? But. . how? I mean. . . how is that possible? Ano. . . "  
  
"Don't worry about the little details for now. I just need you to do something. Above you there should be a gold chain hanging in mid-air." Kagome looked up. There it was.  
  
"Now, I want you to imagine the my stone and your shard in a pendant form."  
  
"What? How? I don't get it!!! Let me out!!" Kagome went over to one of the walls and tired to punch through it. Her fist sunk through the wall like she was immersing it in thick mud. She let out a scream and yanked it back out, but the excessive force made her fall over backwards. ~What. . . the?~ Her hand was covered in some sort of clear crystal. "G-g-g-g-get it off me!!!"  
  
"Calm down! All you need to do is imagine the crystal melting off your hand. The little globe that you are in is something like your mind - only you can control it."  
  
"O. . . okay. . ." in her mind she pictured her hand, with the crystalloid thing on it. Then she thought about the clear stuff melting like ice off her hand. And, just as it was in her mind's eye, it liquefied and dripped gently off her hand. Letting out a sigh of relief, she stood up again. Looking around, she spoke again. "So what now?"  
  
"You need to combine the two jewels." Sesshoumaru's voice was as impassive as ever.  
  
"HOW?!" Kagome was getting sick of asking the same question over and over.  
  
"Okay. I guess I'll have to talk you through it. Do remember how you got the crystal off your hand? Well imagine a black sphere in your mind again, to represent my stone. "  
  
Kagome closed her eyes and imagine a black ball in her mind, just like she had done with her hand.  
  
"Set the black ball to one side, but do not forget it. Now, imagine a smaller pink ball."  
  
Kagome set the black ball to the right of her mind's eye, and then thought of a small pink ball, the same sort of pink as her Shikon no Kakera. She was finding it hard to hold onto both of them at the same time, like she was trying to solve a complicated maths problem and had to hold various numbers in her mind.  
  
"Here's the tricky part; meld them together." If Kagome wasn't mistaken, she could have sworn there was a hint of encouragement in Sesshoumaru's voice. Kagome opened her eyes, breaking her concentration.  
  
"What!?"  
  
"*sigh* You're supposed to meld them together. Like when you mix the ingredients cake, you know?"  
  
"Oh. . . " Kagome closed her eyes and imagined the two spheres again. Then she made the pink ball flow into the bigger black one, creating ripples in the black ball's surface.  
  
"Yokodekimashita!" [--Good work] "All you need to do now is to shape it and attach the chain."  
  
In her head, Kagome experimented with a few different shapes and designs, most of which were ones she had seen in the jewelry shops. After a while she settled on having the black stone wrapped like a snake around the pink, which she had made into a simple silhouette of a cat, with a loop on the top of its head for the chain. Lastly, she brought down the gold chain from above her and wove it through the loop.  
  
"Ok, done!" she called to Sesshoumaru, holding the image in her thoughts.  
  
"Oh, then imagine it in your hand and you're finished." Sesshoumaru's voice now seemed to reach her ears, not her mind. Carefully, she placed the necklace on her hand inside her mind. When she opened her eyes, there it was, lying innocently in her palm, glinting in the afternoon light.  
  
"Wai. . . kire. . . " It looked a lot prettier in real life than it had in her imagination. Smiling, she put it on. "How does it look?"  
  
"U. . .uh. . .well . . . it. . .uh. . ." For the first time, Sesshoumaru couldn't speak. ~What the hell?! Since when have I not been able to talk to Kagome?~ "Looks good!"  
  
"So. . . " Kagome fiddled with her new necklace. "What exactly does this thing do?"  
  
"Its supposed to deflect any youkai that come in within 15 metres of you, at will," He was glad that they were finally on a topic he felt comfortable about.  
  
"That means. . . that I can have a sort of barrier around me? How cool!" she ran her fingers over the black snake that bound the cat. "How do I use it?"  
  
"It responds to your emotions. If you feel hate or fear, it will create a barrier around you. Of course, you can always let people in the barrier that you want. To put it simply, its like an extended person space. Try it out!" Sesshoumaru's mouth twitched slightly, as if he was trying to hide a smile.  
  
Kagome closed her eyes and thought of the one thing that made her skin tingle in fear: Naraku. The moment his face appeared in her mind, a weird pink light flashed through her, and the thought of Naraku disappeared.  
  
"Sesshoumaru!! Sesshoumaru!! It w-" Kagome looked around, but she couldn't see him, Where was he? "Sesshoumaru? Omae doko?" [--where are you?]  
  
"Ka. . . K-Kagome-san. . . da. . .Tasukete. . ." [--help] Sesshoumaru had been pushed back by her barrier and was now hanging upside-down in a tree, foot stuck in a forked branch. Kagome bit her lip apologetically and reached up to pull him down, but stopped as she heard someone laughing.  
  
"Hahahahahahahahahaha!!!! Ne, Sesshoumaru-han, I never thought I'd see you hanging upside down like that!!!! Haha!!!" Dokuya Bankotsu was rolling on the ground, pointing at Sesshoumaru and laughing his head off.  
  
"Shut the hell up, Bankotsu!" Claws sprung from Sesshoumaru's hand as he swiped at the tree that held him captive.  
  
It was surprising how ungraceful Sesshoumaru was when his feet were above his head. Cutting the branch would have been a good idea, if he had enough room between him and the ground to land on his feet. Unfortunately he didn't. Soon he was standing up painfully, rubbing his lower back where he landed.  
  
Kagome tried desperately not to laugh as Bankotsu nearly split his sides laughing again. Beyond humiliation, Sesshoumaru dusted himself off and coughed, trying, but failing, to hide his face, which had turned from its usual paleness to a light pink. The smirk vanished from Kagome's face when she noticed something different about his face.  
  
"Se. . . Sesshoumaru. . . are wa. . ?" [--that's?] Two red slashes had appeared on either side of Sesshoumaru's face, as well as a small blue crescent on his forehead. Kagome could have sworn that he was wearing red eyeshadow as well.. . ..  
  
"Eh? Nani?" Sesshoumaru straightened the cuffs on his uniform sleeves.  
  
Kagome reached into her pocket and pulled out a circular folding mirror that had a faded pawprint on the cover. It was one of the few mementos she had of Inuyasha as a little kid. Flicking it open, she raised it to Sesshoumaru's eye level. His eyes grew wide, but then he reached up and closed the compact, pushing Kagome's hand down, as if he didn't care.  
  
"Oi. Bankotsu. Why are you here? If you're looking for Inuyasha he's-"  
  
"Right here." Inuyasha stepped out from behind a nearby tree.  
  
"Inu-chan!" Kagome began to run over to him, but stopped, for he looked up at her with a strange look in his eyes. A look that didn't give her a good feeling.  
  
"Again, Kagome. What's going on here? Why do you keep meeting Sesshoumaru after school? And," His eyes shot to her neck for a moment, "Where did you get that new necklace?"  
  
"I. . .Inuyasha. . . " Kagome found it was getting harder to breathe. Inuyasha threw a punch at the tree he had been hiding behind, making a lump on the other side.  
  
"Tell me the truth, Kagome!" there was an animalistic growl to his voice that made Kagome feel extremely uneasy. She staggered back, trying desperately to stay on her feet.  
  
"S-s-stay back!!!" Kagome flung out her hand and the pink flash ran through her again as she fell back. Gasping at the realisation of what she had just done, Kagome struggled to her feet and looked around. "Inuyasha!!! Omae doko!!!!"  
  
Panic began to rise in her chest as Kagome searched the park in the fading light.  
  
"Inuyashaaaaa!!!!!!!" Her tears ducts were under so much pressure they were about to burst. Then she heard a small groan from a nearby tree.  
  
"Aaaaaargh. . . . Kagome. . . .what the hell was that??!" Inuyasha distangled himself from the branches of the tree and dropped to his feet. Kagome collapsed in relief.  
  
But. . . Why did she exhaust herself over a guy she'd only been going out for what, 3-4 days? ~Well, I did spend a decade saving myself and waiting, why shouldn't I love him?~ she felt so numb with knowing that she didn't kill the person that mattered to her most that she didn't notice the tears coming from her eyes.  
  
"Kagome? Daijoubu?" Inuyasha walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him and smiled, vision blurred by the tears that kept falling. Then all at once, she flung her arms around her neck and sobbed uncontrollably. It was like the dam in her mind had burst again, just like the time when Sesshoumaru broke into her house.  
  
"Inuyasha. . . yo. . .yo. . . yokata!!!" Kagome managed between sobs. "I thought. . . I thought. . .I thought you were really gone back then!!!" Inuyasha was a little confused. It wasn't like he had come back from the dead or something. ~Somehow I think all this crying isn't just about me getting thrown back. . . ~ He didn't know exactly what was wrong, but he suspected it had something to do with Aiko-kun. He still wasn't sure why Aiko was there in the first place either.  
  
"Uh. . . Kagome? You're going to saturate my shirt soon. . ." Inuyasha said after a while.  
  
"G. . .Gomen ne, Inu-chan. . ." After moving away from Inuyasha, Kagome pulled a small handkerchief from her pocket and dried her face. Suddenly all the lights in the park lit up as night fell. "Um. . .so. . . so you wanted to know why I was meeting Sesshoumaru, right?"  
  
Guilt suddenly hit him like a brick wall. Though about as sensitive as a rock, Inuyasha could tell that Kagome was still upset, despite the fact that she looked over it. How could he be so selfish like that? Kagome probably had good reason to meet Sesshoumaru. Inuyasha kicked himself mentally. She probably didn't even want to be this close to him right now.  
  
"So. . the truth is. . . I've been meeting him because. . ."  
  
"Its okay, you don't have to tell me, K. . . Kame-chan," Inuyasha looked away as Kagome looked up. ~He sounds so cute saying my nickname like that!!!~ Kagome giggled. "What's so funny?!" He demanded. This made Kagome giggle even more.  
  
"Waaaai. . . anata wa HONTONI kawaii, Inu-chan!!" [--you're REALLY cute, Inu-chan] Noticing that his bandanna had been knocked off, she reached up and scratched behind his ear.  
  
"Hey-! What are you-. . . . .Mm. . . that feels good. . . " Inuyasha closed his eyes and leaned a bit towards the ear that was being scratched. No one had ever scratched his ears before, including Kikyo. Not that he let them in the first place, anyway.  
  
~Good.~ Kagome's smile widened. ~Now I won't have to tell him about my situation with Naraku. . . .~  
  
"Oi! Inuya! Hayaku!" Bankotsu was calling him.  
  
"Look, I gotta. . . Kagome stop it now!! Kame-chaaaaaaaaan. . . " with much resignation, Kagome ceased scratching his ear and let him go. "Ja ne!"  
  
"Itterashai. . ." Kagome waved him goodbye as Sesshoumaru walked over. Without turning around she said to Sesshoumaru, "Ikuwaiyo."  
  
Sesshoumaru turned a small phial in his hand. Inside the phial was a strange, luminous pink liquid. He considered it for a moment, but shook his head and slipped it back into his pocket.  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*FLASHBACK*^~*^~*^~*^~  
  
"Ah, douzo, Sesshoumaru-dono," Mukotsu, 5th member of the Akai no Ryuu, handed the youkai a corked phial labelled 'Ai'. "Be careful with that stuff, its extremely concentrated; one drop should be enough. Why you would want Love Potion in the first place is beyond me, though. Maybe you've a new fetish for humans? Oh, I know, you like a human but can't get her to like you!! Haha!!!"  
  
"My business is my business, not yours." Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes at the stout man and pulled the miniature hilt from under his shirt.  
  
"H-hey! I was only joking!!" Mukotsu quickly shut his case of poisons and potions and clipped it to his bike. "Ja ne, Sesshoumaru-dono, maidoagari." [--thanks for letting me do the job/pleasure doing business]  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*END FLASHBACK*^~*^~*^~*^~  
  
"No. It's being dishonest." Sesshoumaru stared at the glass. He had pulled it back out of his pocket.  
  
"Eh? Nani wa?" [--what is?] Kagome was dusting her skirt off. After she was somewhat clean, she looked at him expectantly.  
  
"N-nandayo?" [--What do you want?]  
  
"I need a ride home."  
  
"Hey! I'm not some kind of. . . Oh come on, don't look at me like that. . .Kagome. . . don't. . Oh HELL," Kagome was giving him the sad puppy dog face. "FINE, get over here."  
  
"Yay!"  
  
~^*~^*Some time later*^~*^~  
  
When Kagome got home she trudged up the stairs and fell straight into bed. [Koneko: Hey will ya look at that? It's midnight already. . .hey! that means!!! Its CHRISTMAS!! Kurisumasu omedeto, minna!] Sighing, she changed into her nightgown and sat on her bed, brushing her hair. Somehow a couple of sticks had made themselves a right little tangle in her hair.  
  
"Oneee-chan!!" a Rin-coloured flash sped past her door. She heard a "thud" and Rin walked back to Kagome's door, rubbing her forehead. "Achichichichichi. . . [--ow ow ow ow ow] . . . Ne, Kagome-'neechan, Okaa- san says that dinner's ready.  
  
"Okay, Rin-chan, I'll be down shortly." Kagome smiled a warm smile that didn't quite reach any higher than her mouth. Rin frowned, wondering what was wrong with her. Sesshoumaru had always told her not to ask unnecessary questions, as it could offend someone, so she kept her silence about it.  
  
"Hai, 'nee-chan!" Rin's frown vanished as she ran back downstairs. ~Its okay, coz I know that Sesshoumaru-oniisama or Inu-oniichan will make her feel better soon!~  
  
So it was with a heavy burden in her heart that Kagome changed into a pair of black pants and a powder blue top. As she walked down the huge staircase, Kagome stared at her feet and didn't look up until she got to the bottom. ~No matter how many times I walk on it,~ Kagome glanced back at the stairs, ~It always seems like I'm looking at it for the first time; its that impressive.~  
  
But when she turned back, she had to stifle a terrified scream.  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*|*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~  
  
Muhahaha. . . I just LOVE cliffhangers!!! Haha, ok ok I'll update soon. . . 


	16. Shippo Sleeps over and Sesshoumaru's Pla...

IK16  
  
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!!!! I'm so sleepy. . . I stayed up last night til like 2am, then I got up early to cook breakfast for my Dad. . . *yawn* but still, you guys need ur daily dose of Promise Me, right? -_-zzz. .. Huh!!! What?!?! I'm awake!! I think this one has a lot more jap thou, so watch out!  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*|*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~  
  
Kagome glanced back at the stairs, ~It always seems like I'm looking at it for the first time; its that impressive.~  
  
But when she turned back, she had to stifle a terrified scream. There, standing right before her, was the evil Naraku!! He stood menacingly, face impassive and threatening at the same time.  
  
"N. . . Naraku!!!" Kagome fell back onto the stairs. "GET AWAY!!" she screamed, throwing her hand up in front of her as the pink light ran through her. Naraku gave a high pitched squeal as he was knocked against the door.  
  
"Myaaaaaahhh!!!!! Sesshoumaru-saaaaaan!!!! She hurt me!!!" Naraku sat there and yelled for Sesshoumaru. ~What the hell?!!?~ Kagomes' eyes turned into dots as Sesshoumaru walked in and whacked Naraku on the head.  
  
"Se. . . Sesshoumaru? Nani. . .?" Kagome was. . . put plainly, extremely shocked.  
  
"Oh, this THING?" Sesshoumaru whacked Naraku on the head again. "This isn't Naraku, in case you're wondering. Our little "Naraku" is. . ." he gave 'Naraku' a final, painful smack on the head and, with a "pyon!", turned into a little Kitsune. [--fox]  
  
". . . a kokitsune." [--baby fox]  
  
"Hey! I am NOT a baby!!" the little fox leapt to his feet and glared angrily at Sesshoumaru.  
  
"Well you certainly act like it," he sneered back, looking down imperiously at the little guy. It was hilarious! Sesshoumaru yelling at a kid, and. . .what was that? A hint of a smile?  
  
"Whatever. I'm not going to argue over something like that." The kitsune turned to Kagome and grinned. "Onamae wa?" [--What's your name?]  
  
"Ah. . .un!" Kagome had been too caught up in watching Sesshoumaru that she forgot he was there. "Atashi no namae wa Higurashi Kagome desu." [--My name is Kagome Higurashi]  
  
"Kagome-chan, boku wa Marekete Shippo."[--I am Shippo Marekete] Shippo bowed deeply to Kagome, and Kagome had to restrain herself from yelling out 'KAWAII!!!!'. Still grinning, he straightened up, handing Kagome a flower. "Hajimemashite!"[--nice to meet you]  
  
"Un! Hajimemashite, Shippo-kun." Kagome stood up and took a step, but slipped on the rug on the stairs and ended up at the base of the staircase, rubbing her knee. Rugburn!  
  
"SHIPPO YOU BASTARD-!" Inuyasha dashed into the room and pinned Shippo down with his foot. "Where did you hide my b-. . .Kame-chan! What are you doing on the floor?"  
  
"Ahehhehhehhehheh. . .Be-Betsuni. . . "[--nothing] Kagome gingerly got to her feet and walked to the dining room, where everything was already set up. "Oh! Doumo Arigato Gozaimasu, Mareketa-sama." [--Thank you very very much]  
  
"Ara ara, Kagome-chan, you can call me Shiyuki if you wish," Inuyasha's Okaa-san flitted around the dining table, adding finishing touches to everyone's meal.  
  
"Oh, no, I just couldn't," Kagome sat down at her usual spot, between Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru. Inuyasha's Otousama and Sesshoumaru would sit at either side of the long table, Inuyasha on Father's left, Shiyuki on the right, with Rin next to her. It was then that Kagome noticed a 7th plate, between Sesshoumaru and Rin's plates.  
  
"I assume you met Shippo-bochan at the front door earlier?" [-- -bochan = a suffix used to refer to rich little kids or kids of rich people] Shiyuki seemed satisfied that diner looked ready to eat, so she called out to let everyone else know.  
  
"Hai! Eto. . . bochan?" Kagome sipped at her miso while waiting for everyone else to arrive.  
  
"Hai, hai, Shippo-bochan is the son of a high-ranked Yakuza sub-leader in this area, as well as being newphew to U-sama, you must have heard of him, he's the local leader. Personally I don't think a child like him should be exposed to that sort of nonsense, but it's not my place to say." Shiyuki sat down in her usual spot and lay out a napkin on her lap.  
  
"U-sama. . . desu ka?" [--U-sama. . . is it?] Kagome's heart skipped a beat, but not for a good reason. ~Shimatte!!! I never knew Marekete-sama knew Naraku!!!~  
  
"Un! U-sama is Hikaru-sama's [KonekoChan: Hikaru is Inuyasha's dad] cousin! Its surprising, because he's the same age as Sesshou-chan," Shiyuki sipped at her green tea.  
  
"Nani? Is that even possible, though?" Kagome put her miso back down and leaned forward a little in interest.  
  
"Well, yes, it is, but rare." Shiyuki lowered her cup. "You see, my grandfather-in-law, Marekete Kokuri-sama, had 3 children. He had Hirumo, my father-in-law, when he was 35. Nobaku, U-sama's father and Saotaro, Shippo's mother were born 10 and 18 years later. 24 years passed and then Hikaru was born from Hirumo. A few years after Hikaru was born, Kokuri-sama passed away and handed the title to Nobaku. Nobaku was the middle child but was always Kokuri-sama's favourite, so I am told. He accepted the Yakuza title, but he was shot at a drive-by shooting. The saddest thing is, he was shot on little U-sama's tenth birthday."  
  
"Poor guy. . . " Kagome felt a twinge of pity in her heart for him. On your tenth birthday!  
  
"Un. . . in his will, though, he had written that Hirumo take the title after him, but Hirumo already had a wife and son, who was Hikaru. Of course, Saotaro couldn't hold the title because she was female, and she had just adopted a child; Shippo-bochan. So they passed it to the next in line: U-sama. He refused at first, saying that he didn't want to be reminded of his father, but eventually he caved in, because if he didn't there would be no other way to get over it."  
  
"So. . . First was Hirumo, then Nobaku, Saotaro, Hikaru, then Kokuri-sama died, then Naraku and Sesshoumaru were born, then Inuyasha and me, then Shippo was adopted by Saotaro, Nobaku killed, and then its been 7 years since then?" Kagome sort of got it, but there were too many names to remember.  
  
"Wah! Oishi!" [--delicious!] Shippo had arrived on the scene and seen all the food. "Come on, Rin-chan!!"  
  
"Hai Shi-chan!" Rin was being pulled by Shippo by the hand into the dining room. Kagome smiled. They reminded her of Inuyasha and her from 10 years ago.  
  
"Un un!! Hayaku!! Eat all you want." Shiyuki swept her arm over the various plates that were set out for them.  
  
"Looks good, Okaasama," Sesshoumaru entered from the kitchen side of the dining room and sat in his spot.  
  
"For once I agree, Sesshoumaru. Yuki, this looks delicious!" Inuyasha's otousama came in. If Sesshoumaru had any hint of smiling, it was sure gone now. Kagome had been sensing it ever since she had arrived; a strange silent but deadly aura between Sesshoumaru and his father.  
  
"Itadakimasu!!"[--Lets eat!] Everyone said thank you together and finally it was okay to eat. All through dinner Sesshoumaru didn't was a word. The talking, if any, was from Shippo and Rin, and most of the time to each other.  
  
Kagome finished first, as usual, so she stood up, thanked Shiyuki for dinner and took her plate to the kitchen to wash up. Behind her she heard Sesshoumaru thank his mother and come into the kitchen.  
  
Sesshoumaru walked into the kitchen and saw Kagome standing at the sink, rinsing her plate off. Reaching into his pocket, he felt a small glass jar. Frowning, he pulled it out to discover that is was the Love Potion he had gotten from Mukotsu. ~I thought this was still in my uniform. . .~ shrugging, he slipped it back. ~Oh well, not like I'm going to use it anyway. Or am I?~ For some reason he couldn't seem to keep it in his pocket. It kept yearning him to come out, as though now was the time to use it.  
  
"No!" Sesshoumaru growled at it and put it in the pocket of the jacket he was wearing and zipped it up. "There! Now you can't bother me!"  
  
"Sesshoumaru-san, who are you talking to?" Kagome was standing in front of him, looking curiously at him.  
  
"Ah! Did I say all that aloud?" Sesshoumaru tried not to blush. "Gomen ne."  
  
"Heehee! I reckon its cute that you don't say "NO THAT WASN'T ME!!'" like Inuyasha does, but then again Inuyasha's still cute in his own way," A sudden sting made his heart hurt, "Ne, I'm going to sleep. Oyasumi!" Kagome walked out of the kitchen and headed upstairs.  
  
"O. . .Oyasumi. . ."  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*In the Morning*^~*^~*^~*^~  
  
"OHAYO 'NEE-CHAN!!!" Kagome sat bolt upright in bed. ~What. . .what was that nightmare?!~ Rin and Shippo were on the edge of her bed, with Pixie- chan standing on Rin's head.  
  
"Ohayo Kagome-chan!" Shippo handed her a glass of water. "Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost or something."  
  
"Ii. . .iie. . ." The weird dream she just came from flashed into her mind again. A black bird. Inuyasha with black hair. Inuyasha's head on the ground, his body up a tree. Kagome shook her head and gulped down half the glass in one go.  
  
"Come on, let's go wake up the others," Kagome slid her legs out from under the sheets and stood up. "Rin, go check if Sesshoumaru's awake, Shippo. . .I'll go wake up Inuyasha so you. . . you can go downstairs and put cereal in some bowls for breakfast."  
  
"Haaaai!" Rin and Shippo bounded out of the room and off to do their jobs.  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*~^**^~*^~*^~*^~*^~  
  
"Kagome. . .why do you have to be up so early?" Inuyasha yawned and rubbed sleep out of his eyes as he trudged out of the front door.  
  
"Why do you have to sleep in?" Kagome asked innocently.  
  
"Coz I want to!" He mumbled, irritated.  
  
"Ah, Gomen nasai then, Inu-chan. We'll walk slow today, if you're really that inactive," Kagome twirled around and began to walk to school. She stopped under a large pine tree just at the bottom of the driveway. "And. . .Sesshoumaru! I know you're up there so don't even TRY to hide!!"  
  
"Fair enough," Sesshoumaru dropped down from the midst of the branches and landed next to Kagome. "So, what subjects have we got today?"  
  
Sesshoumaru fiddled with the phial in his pocket. He couldn't resist the allure of bringing it to school. For some reason he got the creepy feeling that the bottle was in love with him, or even creepier, the other way around.  
  
"Um. . I think. . . Japanese, Maths, Science, Geography and Ancient History." Kagome ticked them off her fingers. "Oh no! I totally forgot to study for the Ancient History test!!!" Sesshoumaru took hid bag off his shoulders and sifted through it. Pulling out a small blue notebook, he held it in his hand for a moment. Making sure she wasn't looking, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the phial. After letting a single luminous pink drop fall onto the cover he handed to her.  
  
"Hai! Douzo," Kagome looked at him as if he was mad.  
  
"What?! I couldn't possibly take your notes!! What if you need them?!" Kagome took a ministep away from him.  
  
"Oh, Daijoubu," Sesshoumaru waved it at her, "Just take it, I don't need them."  
  
"Hontoni. . .?" Kagome was still doubtful.  
  
"Hai hai, go ahead!" Sesshoumaru shoved it into her hands and slung his bag back onto his shoulders, just as they passed through the school gates.  
  
"Arigato gozaimasu!" she gave him a little bow and ran off to Sango, waving him a little 'Ja ne!' over her shoulder.  
  
"Keh. So Mukotsu wasn't lying for once. You really DO like her, ne, Sesshoumaru?" Bankotsu was standing under the pine trees on the opposite side of the Sakura Trees.  
  
"You actually came for once, Dokuya-san," Sesshoumaru looked over at him. Bankotsu odd in the school uniform, but not without his usual 'f**k society' look. Shirt buttons not done, wrong shoes, cigarette. . .probably the only thing about him that was even close to neat was his hair, which he took a lot pride in. It was braided back into a tight plait, with the fringe left to cover his eyes. It might sound weird, but with that face of his, you couldn't help but be a little scared of him.  
  
"Un. I needed to talk to Inuyasha. Hasn't been coming on bike runs lately." he coughed, then spat some weird black stuff onto the ground.  
  
"I told you. Keep smoking like that and you'll end up like Kokuri-dono." Sesshoumaru's great-grandfather was killed my tar intoxication from cigars.  
  
"Pfft. I don't care about that old fool. Never meant much to me anyway. Naraku disbanded us for that damn Yakuza."  
  
"Yea yea, I remember, no need to go on a rant again."  
  
"Anyway," Bankotsu pulled out a huge sword from the scabbard on his back. The halberd had a long handle as long as the blade, which was probably 1.5m anyway. "You need any favours while I'm here? I'm still in your debt, right?"  
  
"Yep. Well, there is one thing you could do."  
  
"Name it. I don't like owing people." He stepped away from the wall and ran a cloth  
  
"Make Inuyasha fall in love with someone else." Sesshoumaru handed Bankotsu the phial.  
  
"Whoa whoa whoa whoa. . .chotto, I never mess with peoples emotions, okay? Its just not me. Killing and assassination I can handle, but I don't touch the emotion stuff." Bankotsu gave back the phial and backed away to show he was serious. [KonekoChan: He's so nice~!. . . I think. . .] "Hey, isn't this Mukotsu's?"  
  
"Yeah, it is." The bell rang at Sesshoumaru's last word. "Do you even remember what class you were in?"  
  
"E. . .eto. . ." Bankotsu looked up and thought for moment. "Nope."  
  
"Well come to my class, you can just pretend you're not there."  
  
"Uh. . . okay. . .oh! OI! INUYA!" Bankotsu spotted Inuyasha sitting next to a girl who was hitting the boy next to her. "Oh, and Miroku as well! What luck!" with incredible speed he ran over and grinned at him.  
  
Sesshoumaru waved his hand over the potion that lay in his other palm. "Follow him, make sure what I want to happen, happens." Red light flooded from his hand and engulfed the glass bottle. When the light vanished, a small, red-clad boy with tiny wings on his feet lay in place of the potion.  
  
"Whoa. . .where am I?" the little boy looked around, then spotted the (to him) giant person holding him. Throwing up his hands to protect himself, he let out a scream. "EEEEEEEEEYAAAAAA!!!! Don't hurt me!!! M. . .Matte. . . omae wa. . ." [--you are. . ]  
  
"Ohayo, Masao." Sesshoumaru lifted the weird miniperson to his face.  
  
"Sesshoumaru-sama!! Ogenki desu ka?" he flapped his little foot-wings and held himself up at eye level.  
  
"You have my orders. Go." Sesshoumaru grabbed Masao and flicked him towards Inuyasha.  
  
"Ryoukaaaaaaaaaaai!!!" [--roger!] Spotting Inuyasha, Masao righted himself and flew proudly for a few seconds, but then-  
  
SMACK  
  
"Eh? Nani kore?" [--what's this?] Masao tapped at the clear wall that was now between him and completing Sesshoumaru's request. "A clear wall? Well, walls are no problem."  
  
Masao flew down to the ground and picked a small pebble. An evil grin spread over his face.  
  
"Hooooooooooooryaaaaaa!" [--just a sort of yell] he spun in mid air and flung the pebble to the window. Screams emitted from the classroom as shards of glass flew in all directions. Smirking, Masao flew to the window, but. . .  
  
"TASUKETE!!!!"[--help me!!!!] a small bird had snatched Masao in its mouth and flew up to a nest. Masao conjured up a small sword and whacked the bird on the head. "Take that!!!!"  
  
Screeching, the bird dropped Masao, who chuckled as he flew through the broken window.  
  
Looking around, he saw Inuyasha's arm being bandaged by a girl called Sango, according to the information Sesshoumaru had given him. ~Perfect target!!!~ Masao flew overhead while conjuring up the Love Potion Bomb, like a water bomb but with the potion. He was about a metre about him, but Masao was sure he could hit Inuyasha from that distance.  
  
"Say. . . Aishiteru!!" Masao laughed wickedly as he dropped the bomb right above Inuyasha's head.  
  
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R+R!!! HeeHee. . . com on, u kno u wanna kno wat happens next!! 


	17. Bombs Away!

IK17  
  
Disclaimer: Gee havn't done one of these in a while. . . Ok, I do NOT own Inuyasha or related Indicia. No. I don't. *sob* Ahem! But I do own Kokuri, Hirumo, Nobaku, Saotaro, Hikaru, Shiyuki, Nara. . .no, U-sama, and Aoi no Hana. Oh, and Pixie-chan and Masao.  
  
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"Eyyaaaa!!!! Nekoneko-chan!!!" Bankotsu had taken a Ayame's cat toy from her mobile and thrown it across the room.  
  
"Go fetch, bitch," he sneered. But Bankotsu had never encountered a girl like Ayame. (This is when Masao drops the love bomb)  
  
"BA-N-KO-TSU!!!!" Ayame was trembling with rage. She drew her fist back and SMACK, got him across the face. Bankotsu was sent flying across the room, and smashed straight into Inuyasha, who was still having his arm bandaged. "JUST BECAUSE YOU WEREN'T ALLOWED TO BE IN THE SAME CLASS AS SESSHOUMARU DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN TAKE IT OUT ON ME!!!!!!!"  
  
"NO!!!" Masao yelled and dove to catch the potion before it hit this other guy. But it was too late. It landed with an innocent "plik!" on Bankotsu's forehead.  
  
"Bankotsu!! What the hell are you doing?!" Inuyasha shoved him off with his good arm and stood up, dusting himself off. "Jeez. . . "  
  
But Bankotsu wasn't listening. He was staring at Ayame as though she was the only person in the room. For some reason, after she hit him, he felt the warmest, fuzziest feeling in his heart.  
  
"Ayame-chan. . . " Bankotsu got to his feet, held her to him and stared deeply into her eyes, "Come away with me."  
  
"What the CRAP, Bankotsu!!!" Ayame struggled against his grip, and managed to free a hand, which she promptly hit him with.  
  
"Ayame, darling, there is no need to hide your feelings, for I am here now. . ." Bankotsu then did the unbelievable; he kissed her, right there, in front of the whole class. If they weren't looking when she hit him either time, they were now.  
  
Blushing redder than a sun after bloodshed, Ayame pulled away from him and screamed.  
  
"KYYYAAAAAA!!!!!! KOUGA!!!! SOMEONE!!! ANYONE!!!!!!! GET THIS FREAK AWAY FROM ME!!!!"  
  
"Come on Ayame, you shouldn't need our help," Inuyasha was helping Sango to her feet.  
  
"FINE." She kneed him in the crotch and made and escaped while he fell to the floor in pain. "Don't you EVER touch me AGAIN, you CREEP!!!"  
  
"But Ayame-chan!"  
  
"Do you want me to rip them off this time?!?" Ayame snarled.  
  
"No no no no no no no no no. . . " Masao fluttered above the scene, watching chaos wreak its terrible wrath. "This isn't what was supposed to happen!!"  
  
Nearly in tears, the poor pixie-boy flew out of the room to wait for the confusion to settle. Flying to the next door down, he peered in the door. There was Sesshoumaru-sama!!! He went into the middle of the doorway and began doing mid-air jumping jacks to get his attention, but Sesshoumaru was too busy staring at the girl a few desks in front with a puzzled look on his face.  
  
~Why the hell did I make Masao do that?~ Sesshoumaru was looking at the back of Kagome's head, wondering why he wanted her so badly, and what made him want to make Inuyasha fall in love with someone else. ~I mean, I do find her cute, but. . . she's human!! Why would I want a human?!?!~  
  
~maybe becoz she's she first one who's gotten close to you without actually falling in love with you~ An annoying little voice popped up in the back of his head.  
  
~What?! There's no logic in that. . .~ Sesshoumaru frowned.  
  
~Of course there is! I mean, she accepts you for who you are, and not what you look like, right?~  
  
~What the hell?!~  
  
~Its true, isn't it? Plus there's no one who been like that ever since, well ever since Mai~  
  
~She's nothing like Mai-chan!~  
  
~Sure she is! I mean, Happy, bright, caring. . . ~  
  
~Vicious when angry! Cries a lot!~  
  
~Wasn't Mai like that anyway?~  
  
~Well. . . um. . . I guess. . . .~  
  
~Hmm. . . I thought so. . . . well, ja ne!~  
  
~N-nani?!? Oi! Matte!~  
  
But the voice was gone. This was ridiculous! Sesshoumaru wasn't about to listen to some weird unnecessarily cheery voice inside his head.  
  
"Marekete-san! Are you there?!" Aoki-sensei snapped Sesshoumaru out of his stupor. "Solve the problem on the board. I'm sure Higurashi-san will survive without having you stare at her 24/7."  
  
"Uh. . .oh! Hai!" Sesshoumaru stood up and spoke with his usual bored dignity and solved the problem easily. It was a simple algebraic problem he'd seen a couple of times before.  
  
However, Kagome was listening to Sesshoumaru with annoyance. ~he was staring at me?! I already told him, -very- directly, that I'm interested in Inuyasha. . .But, I can't help but be a little sympathetic towards him. . . ~  
  
Knowing that the lesson was going to end soon, Kagome retrieved Sesshoumaru's Ancient History notebook from her bag and had a quick flick through it. Suddenly a strange, dreamy, heart-warming sensation came over her as the dust that flew up from opening it went into her face. Glancing back up at Sesshoumaru, she suddenly realised how handsome he was. . . for the first time. . . she felt somewhat in.. . . . in. . . in love with him!  
  
~Chotto matte!! What am I doing!?~ Kagome shook her head. ~Inuyasha is my boyfriend, I shouldn't be thinking of Sesshoumaru like that!!!~  
  
Slamming the notes shut again, the dreamy feeling overcame her again. ~No!~ Kagome shoved the noted back into her bag and thought of Inuyasha for a moment. Humming quietly, she scribbled a little dog dressed in school uniform inside cover of her maths book.  
  
Finally the bell rang to signal the end of period one. Kagome leaned back and stretched, relieved that it was over. Maths wasn't exactly her best subject.  
  
"Kagome!" Kouga came over from his usual back-seat spot as the teacher left the room. "Daijoubu ka? You seemed a little out of it today."  
  
"Un! I just needed to clear my head." Kagome closed her book, hiding her drawing. "How's Ginta and Hakkaku?"  
  
"They're okay I guess, not as bad as they usually are." Kouga glanced over to the back row, where his two closest friends, Makaru Ginta and Jikayao Hakkaku were fighting over an eraser. Hakkaku, who had Ginta in a headlock, looked up at Kouga and flashed him a grin and a thumbs-up. "So, I heard you hooked up with Inukko-.. . . Inuyasha."  
  
"Hai. He's a lot more. . . sincere. . . when you get to know him," Kagome smiled, feeling love in her heart for Se. . . .what?! No! for INUYASHA.  
  
"Sesshoumaru-sama!" Masao rushed over to Sesshoumaru and landed on the book he was reading. "Emergency!!"  
  
"What did you do this time?" he sighed, gently prodding Masao to get off his book.  
  
"I. . . I hit the wrong person!! Some person called. . .Bangoku!" He looked like a little kid who had drawn on the wall and hidden the crayons behind his back.  
  
"Bangoku.. . . .? Who's that? What happened, exactly?" Sesshoumaru stopped reading and looked sternly at his minifriend.  
  
"Well, I dropped a LPB (love potion bomb) from above Inuyasha, and it was sure to hit him, but this violent girl called Oyami punched this guy Bangoku into Inuyasha at the same time, so he got hit with it and fell in love with the Oyami girl. . . " Masao spoke as fast as he could, hoping that his master wouldn't be able to decipher anything he said.  
  
"Bangoku? Oyami? Wait. . . you mean. . .Bankotsu and Ayame?" Sesshoumaru looked at Masao curiously.  
  
"Yeah . . . that's probably them . . . they were yelling so loud I couldn't quite catch their names. . . " Masao frowned thoughtfully.  
  
"Kuso!!! [--shit!] Well what are you still doing here?! Get back in there and try again!" he growled.  
  
"Ryoukai!!" Masao flew out an open window to the next room. ~I have to do this!! Sesshoumaru-sama is counting on me!~ "Now. . . where is he. . .? "  
  
Scanning the busy classroom, he spotted Inuyasha talking to his friend, Miroku. He cackled evilly, but then gave a yell as the loudspeaker next to his emitted a voice over the PA system:  
  
"Will Sukimono Eriya-san please report to the office with the class overview, I repeat, will Sukimono Eriya-san please report to the office with the class overview."  
  
Masao, half deaf by now, kicked the loudspeaker out of anger, resulting in pain in his foot. Looking back into the classroom and trying to ignore his throbbing foot, he saw that Inuyasha was walking out of the room with his friend, an A4 envelope in his hand.  
  
"Chance smiles on me once more!!" Masao flew through the still-to-be- repaired window and flew above his head, this time closer, but not close enough to be seen. "Sesshoumaru said to make him fall in love with someone else, but he never said whether it had to be boy or girl! Heehee!" he brought a LPB out of thin air and threw it at Inuyasha.  
  
"Oh! Inuyasha-kun!" Eri, Kagome's friend, had stepped out of the next-door class. "Miroku-kun! Why are you he . . . w. . .whoa!!!" Eri took a stepped forward but slipped, falling on Inuyasha by accident.  
  
Masao was in disbelief. Not AGAIN!!! Eri ended up getting hit by the LPB. Miroku quickly turned around. "You two! Honestly!!" Miroku said that scoldingly, but he was smiling.  
  
"Oi! Get off me!! You're as bad as Bankotsu!" he shoved Eri off him waved the envelope at her. "I'm taken already, ok? By Kagome, get it? Ka-Go-Me."  
  
"Oh Inuyasha-kun, your voice is so wonderful!" Eri took a step closer to him. "Ne, how bout leaving Kagome for me, ne? Ne?!"  
  
"W-What?! No!" Inuyasha glared at her angrily, but he was blushing. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"  
  
"Nothing. . . now that I'm here with you. . ." her eyes went all glassy and she took another step.  
  
"KuSO!" Masao, frustrated and furious, threw another bomb at Inuyasha. But due to his lack of concentration, he ended up hitting the guy behind with instead.  
  
"Eh?" Miroku felt his head. He could have sworn he felt some liquid drop onto his head. But they were inside, plus it was perfectly sunny outside. Turning back, he said, "hey, did you guys. . . .Eriya-chan!"  
  
Miroku's eyes misted over as he realised how . . .how beautiful she was. Sure, he know her very well, but it was love at. . . second sight!  
  
"Waaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!!!" Masao whacked his head. ~I am such an IDIOT!!!~ nearly on the verge of tears, he quietened. "I WILL hit him this time!"  
  
Opening his eyes, Masao made sure he wasn't going to move, made a LPB, took careful aim and. . .  
  
"Taaaaaaaaaaaake. . .THAT!" Masao flung it at Inuyasha with all his might. He watched it travel across in slow motion. . .  
  
"DIRECT HIT!!!" Fluttering around waving "banzai" fans, he heard the adjacent room door open.  
  
"Oh, Eriya-san, you forgot this. . ." Sesshoumaru ran up to Eri holding a manila folder with the class overview forms in it. "Who are you?"  
  
Sesshoumaru glared at Inuyasha, who was looking at him funny. He seemed to be smiling serenely, eyes alight with. . . with. . .no. . . it couldn't be. . .  
  
"Sesshoumaru-kun," Inuyasha grinned, "Ore wa Anata ga daisuki!" [--I like you a lot]  
  
"MASAOOOOOO!!!! GET HERE!!" Sesshoumaru looked up and yelled, not that anyone else in the hall noticed, they were too busy looking at each other adoringly.  
  
"Sumimasen, Sesshoumaru-sama," Masao came down to Sesshoumaru and hung his head in shame.  
  
"You accursed, imbecilic, little piece of. . ." Sesshoumaru plucked him from the air and clenched him in his fist.  
  
"Gomen nasai, Danna-sama, demo. . . " [--I'm sorry, master, but. . .] Masao's tiny face went red, then purple. . . "I can't breathe!!!"  
  
"Good, you're better off dead!"  
  
"Sesshoumaru-sama!! If you kill me, you won't be able to get your potion from me!!" Masao didn't really know whether or not it was true, but it seemed to work. Sesshoumaru loosened his grip on him.  
  
"Alright, Masao," each word he spoke quavered with incomparable anger, "I will give you one more chance, and nothing more."  
  
Sesshoumaru walked over to Inuyasha and pulled out a glass bottle with blue stuff in it. Removing the cork stopper, he let two or so drops fall onto his brother's head, not noticing a tiny droplet falling on Miroku, who was standing next to him. Inuyasha closed his eyes. The rest he fused into Masao, so he could administer it to people that he hit wrong.  
  
"What is it, Danna-sama?" Masao gave a little shiver as the potion became part of him.  
  
"Multi-purpose potion antidote. Good for purposes like his, but it induces harmful migraines and minor memory loss. I would get you to use on everyone that you poisoned, but the Love Potion wears off in 72 hours, so it's a waste, plus we shouldn't use it on humans. Who knows, it might give them brain damage or something." Sesshoumaru gave Eriya the class overview forms and returned to his classroom.  
  
When Inuyasha opened his eyes, he found Eri still gazing at him adoringly, and Miroku staring at Eri. "What the hell is going on here?!" he whacked Miroku over the head, which seemed to pull him from his dreamish state. "Take the forms to the office. I'm outta here."  
  
"Uh. . . .? Oh! Right! The forms!" Miroku noted vaguely that he had the envelope in his hand. For some reason, he found that he couldn't remember the name of the girl her was looking at, all he knew was that he liked her. "Eriya-chan?"  
  
"Who are YOU?" Eri stopped following Inuyasha with her eyes and looked down at him with increasing disgust. "Hmph. Compared to the wonderful, spunky, Inuyasha-oujisama, you're a WORM." Miroku's heart snapped in half.  
  
"E. . .Eriya-chan. . . "  
  
"And don't call me that, hentai otaku." [--perverted maniac] Eriya walked off haughtily.  
  
Miroku watched her go with his heart at his toes. Then a girl with black hair came out of the door next to him and smiled at him. Still slightly vague, ~Who's she? S. . . .Sango, right?~  
  
"Miroku-kun! What are you doing? These were supposed to be at the office 5 minutes ago!" Sango took his hand and pulled him along.  
  
~She. . . she's holding my hand. . . maybe. . . maybe I should like her instead of Eriya-chan. . . this 'Sango' seems a lot nicer than Eriya-chan. . .~ Miroku smiled at this new girl. She had a good butt too.  
  
"Ne, Sango-chan, will you go out with me?" Sango suddenly stopped, and turned to face him, slightly teary-eyed.  
  
"Mi. . . Miroku-kun. . .h-hontoni? [--really?] "  
  
"Hai, honto." Miroku smiled his most charming smile. "So? What do you think?"  
  
"Of course!!!!" Sango let go of his hand and hugged him with all her strength. "Oh, you don't know how long I've wanted to hear those words!!"  
  
Miroku was a little shocked. He didn't have a clue what she was going on about, but it felt good.  
  
***(switch scene to Inuyasha's classroom)***  
  
Masao had sat himself on the wooden rim above the door. He had developed a new way to shoot LPBs - a miniscule slingshot. It was a simple thing, made of a section of rubber band and broken bits of a toothpick.  
  
"Heheh, this time, you WILL be under my spell!!!" Masao stood up and stretched the elastic band a few times to warm it up. Loading the slingshot, he aimed straight at Inuyasha.  
  
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^^ Merry Xmas to All my readers and GOOD LUCK GUY for World Idol!! Vote for Guy!!! 


	18. Akai no Ryuu's Warehouse

IK18  
  
SORI THIS IS LATE. . . I've been reeli sick lately and sick means that I get writers block and that means that I can't reeli type or think up words to go with the story and. . . . . . .yea. . . wel. . . yea. . .  
  
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Masao drew back the sling, but stopped. ~Wait,~ he thought, ~I could have a lot of fun with this. . .~  
  
Chuckling evilly he zoomed out of the room, a plan already formed in his mind.  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*Later*^~*^~^*~*^~  
  
"Inuya!" Renkotsu called, revving his bike impatiently. It was 3pm, and Renkotsu had been called in to get Inuyasha and Bankotsu from school. Not that he really needed to pick up Bankotsu, since he had some on his own bike.  
  
"Hai! Chotto!" Inuyasha yelled back. Then, turning back to Kagome, "You wanna come with?"  
  
"I. . . I don't know if I should. . ." Kagome eyed Renkotsu suspiciously.  
  
"Come on, it'll be fun! I promise, nothing will happened to you, okay?" Inuyasha smiled that trusting smile of his, and Kagome couldn't help but give in.  
  
"Oh all right, but this is the -only- time, okay?" they walked over to Renkotsu, then Inuyasha picked her up by the waist and plonked her on the back of Renkotsu's motorcycle. "Matte. . . how are you going to get there?"  
  
"I'm going on my own," Inuyasha replied, "You know, my own way."  
  
"But. . ." Kagome didn't want to be alone with this stranger! She wanted Inuyasha with her!  
  
"Kagome, it'll be alright, Renkotsu won't bite!" Patting her on the back, he walked over to Bankotsu.  
  
"Hurry up, will ya?" said Bankotsu as he mounted his bike, "We got a lot of important stuff to do."  
  
Revving his Honda up, he shot out of the school and turned right, heading for the east highway. Renkotsu followed after him, Kagome hanging onto the seat for dear life.  
  
As they turned the corner into the roaring highway, Masao was jolted from his nap as he slid across the floor of the bag he was hiding in. Dazed, he stood up, which a later second he learnt was a very stupid thing to do when you're in a bag that's on the back of a bike belonging to a speed demon.  
  
"Uaaaaahhh!!!" Masao gave a yell as he was knocked around the bag. Feeling very much like a rag doll, he flew into the middle of the bag and stayed there, watching everything else tumble around him. Then, all of a sudden, they stopped, making Masao smack into the back of the bag. Hearing muffled voices outside, he cleared his head and pushed up the nearby zip, which was considerably hard considering that he was on the inside. Once it was open, Masao saw that they had arrived at a waterfront pier, which smelt like rotting fish and looked even worse.  
  
"Komban wa, Renkotsu-san," two people Masao had never seen, a boy with purple stripes on either cheek and a strange symbol on his forehead, and a normal-looking girl with black hair, whose bag he had hidden in, were standing outside a warehouse. There was also another dark-haired man standing in front of them, with his back to Masao.  
  
"Komban wa," the pair bowed, greeting the man at the same time. The girl seemed to be extremely frightened. ~Poor girl,~ Masao felt pity. ~Maybe I should help her out a bit.~  
  
"Oh? Who's this? Renkotsu-san! Since when did you get such a cute girlfriend?!" The dark-haired man with his back to Masao put his hand on the girl's cheek.  
  
"Ah, Chigou! This is Higurashi Kagome-san, Inuyasha's girlfriend," the Renkotsu boy gave the man a strange look. Masao pushed the zip up as far as he could, and flew up into the air above the "Kagome" girl. "U-sama, are you staying to watch tonight?"  
  
"Heehee. . ." Masao armed his Love-Slingshot and aimed at the girl. The man, "U-sama" as the other boy had called him, pulled back his hand and looked at him.  
  
"No, unfortunately I will be away on business matters. I wish I could stay though," U-sama gave a cold laugh, "Finally, we're going to see Kamiera go down! I left him inside. Don't worry, he's got so much chloroform in his system he'll be out until sunrise. That is, if he's still alive by then!"  
  
"Haha! I know what you mean," Renkotsu grinned. "Well, we'd better be going."  
  
"Ja ne!" U-sama was already in his car.  
  
Masao hid the slingshot as another person hurtled across the pier on a bike. Fear flooded him as he realised that it was Bankotsu, the boy he had made fall in love with Ayame. Abandoning his attack on the girl, Masao flew into the warehouse viz on of the air vents.  
  
"Yo! Kagome-chan!" another boy leapt out of the sidecar he was in as Bankotsu slid to a stop.  
  
"Uh? Oh! Miroku-kun!" She waved, but froze as someone clapped their hand over he mouth.  
  
"Kagome. . . " the person growled. Kagome shut her eyes as a pink flash ran through her body. "Kwaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!"  
  
"K. . .Kagome. . . I was. . . just. . . kidding. . . " Kagome turned around to fine Inuyasha pressed up against the warehouse door, knocked back by her.  
  
"Omigod! Inu-chan!" Kagome rushed over and helped him down, apologising over and over. "Don't DO that! You know how paranoid I can get!"  
  
"Well, no, I didn't, but I do now . . ." Inuyasha winced slightly as he walked over to Bankotsu. "Ooaniki, we ready to go?"  
  
"Un. . ." Bankotsu slid his foot under his bike, putting the kickstand out to support his bike. He unhitched the sidecar and looped a chain around it, then started dragging it one-handed across the pier to the warehouse, where he promptly kicked down the door and walked in. "You guys comin' or what?"  
  
Slightly frozen at the sight of Bankotsu kicking down a 35kg steel door, everyone somehow snapped out of their daze and quickly filed through the door.  
  
"Ah! Yasha-chan!!" Kikyo dashed over and draped her arms around Inuyasha, making a little "x" vein appear on Kagome's forehead. "Okaeri nasaaaaaaaaaaaai. . . ."  
  
"WHO the HELL are YOU?!?" Kagome glared at Kikyo with the same kind of unparalleled hate that Sesshoumaru sometimes showed.  
  
"Oh?" Kikyo turned to Kagome and raised an eyebrow at her. "I could ask you the same thing. . ." Letting go of Inuyasha she walked over and stood face- to-face with Kagome.  
  
"They. . .they're both scary. . ." Inuyasha backed away a little. It was creepy enough that they looked enough alike, but they were also emitting the same kind of deadly aura as well.  
  
"I happen to be Inuyasha's girlfriend, Kagome." She crossed her arms triumphantly and looked down at Kikyo, who laughed.  
  
"Well I happen to be Bankotsu's girlfriend," Kikyo waved her hand in the air, as if to dispel Kagome's comment. "And Inuyasha's Ex. Ne, Yasha-chan?"  
  
"I. . .uh. . ." Inuyasha sweatdropped as both of them turned to face him at the same time. If he dissed Kikyo, it would risk his position in the Akai no Ryuu, but if he dissed Kagome, well, he didn't even want to think about what would happen to him then. "Yeah, that's right. You are my EX. Which I DUMPED, remember?"  
  
Kikyo blushed angrily as Inuyasha put his arm around Kagome and walked off. Glaring at them both, she went to her last resort;  
  
"SLUT!" she yelled, at the top of her lungs.  
  
*smack*. . . .  
  
Bankotsu stood over Kikyo, his hand away from just slapping her. He looked down at her disgustedly, with a hidden message that said, 'I actually dated this thing?'  
  
"I don't like foul words that come from the mouths of ladies." He smirked. "But I don't mind them coming from you, seeing as you're not. We're through, Kikyo." With that, he turned around and walked to the stage that was at the end of the warehouse.  
  
Kikyo stood there for a moment, staring after Bankotsu with shock on her face, as well as a reddening hand mark. Then, with a "ugh!" of annoyance, she stalked out of the warehouse and whistled for a taxi.  
  
Shrugging, the rest of the gang walked over to where Bankotsu was standing, with a canvas-covered lump next to him.  
  
"Ladies and not-so-Gentlemen," waving his arm around dramatically, with a relieved sort of smile on his face, Bankotsu's public speaking voice was surprisingly good, considering how much he smoked. "It is my pleasure to be here, for tonight, our rival gang, the Kamiera, lose to us!"  
  
Many cheers erupted from the most of the people in the warehouse. Not that there were that many in the first place, but they were so happy that when they yelled, it seemed that there were 5 times more that what there was. Kagome looked around, and spotted Miroku standing hand-in-hand with. . . Sango?!  
  
"Kagome-chan!" Sango dragged Miroku over to her and Inuyasha, whispering "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I was about to ask you the same thing!" Kagome hissed back. "Shh, I think Bankotsu-san's nearly done."  
  
"And now, I present to you. . ." whisking the canvas off the lump beside him, Bankotsu grinned even wider. "the CAPTURED leader of the Kamiera!!"  
  
Kagome froze. She rubbed her eyes just to make sure she was seeing what she thought she was seeing. She was.  
  
"Kouga-kun?!!?!" stunned, Kagome felt her knees nearly buckle beneath her.  
  
"Oh? Kame-chan? You know him?" Inuyasha spoke to her out of the corner of his mouth. Bankotsu didn't just have a good voice; he had incredible hearing as well.  
  
"Yeah. . .he's from school. . ." said Kagome faintly.  
  
"Eh? Honto?" [--for real?] Inuyasha looked surprised.  
  
"Oh honestly Inuyasha, you met him on the first day you were there!" Kagome snapped out of her stunned daze and gave Inuyasha an annoyed look.  
  
"I. . .I did? Oh right. . oh! Him?! Really?!" Inuyasha squinted at the brown-haired, blue-eyed teen that sat on the stage, looking fuzzily out at the crowd. He was dressed in weird clothes, a cracked and bloodstained armour plate across his chest and a torn pair of pants, which looked more like shorts now.  
  
"Omigod, he looks terrible. . ." Kouga raised his head every so often and shook it, like he was trying to clear his vision or something, but in the end he slumped against the pole he was near. With his arms and legs tied up, as well as being gagged, Kagome guessed that he wasn't exactly comfortable. Suddenly she remembered what Naraku had said to Renkotsu before. ~" he's got so much chloroform in his system he'll be out until sunrise. That is, if he's still alive by then!". . . . oh no! Poor Kouga- kun!~ Kagome felt like leaping up onto that stage and rescuing Kouga, but. . .  
  
Looking around again, a little closer this time, she noticed that none of them carried guns. But they were hardly noted because they didn't kill anyone - quite the opposite, in fact - they were known for their ability to take down any opponent, without so much as breaking a sweat.  
  
Jakotsu carried a strange sword, that wove around the place like a snake when let loose. Bankotsu, well, he always had a huge halberd strapped to his back whenever it was possible. Kyoukotsu was pure muscle, Suikotsu has blades on his knuckles, Ginkotsu had an array of metal discs, Mukotsu had poison, Inuyasha was a hanyou, Renkotsu, well, Kagome didn't know what tricks he had up his sleeves, and Miroku. . . hang on, what did Miroku have?  
  
Immediately her eyes trailed down to his right hand, which was sealed with a rosary. ~Probably has something to do with that~  
  
"KOUGA-KUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" a loud, reverberating scream echoed through the warehouse. Definitely a girls voice, but no girl Kagome knew had that kind of volume. A roar of wind rushed through the corrugated storeroom they were in, and a whirlwind of leaves swept in to where Kouga sat. As the leaves dropped, a girl that Kagome knew came into view.  
  
"Kouga-kun, daijoubu?" Ayame knelt down next to Kouga and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. He lifted his head heavily to look at her, but it dropped back down. She stood up. "You!" she barked, pointing at Bankotsu. "What have you done to him?!"  
  
"Me?" Bankotsu held up his hands innocently. "I did nothing. The question you should be asking is, 'How strong am I?', because unless you haven't noticed, you're outnumbered."  
  
It was true, everyone in the warehouse (excluding Sango and Kagome) had pulled out their weapons.  
  
Ayame raised an eyebrow at him. "Am I?" sticking two fingers in her mouth, sh elet out a shrill whistle, letting in Ginta, Hakkaku and 30 or so timber wolves.  
  
30 seconds later, Ayame, Ginta and Hakkaku were tied up next to Kouga, and the wolves corpses were being dragged out of the warehouse.  
  
"So much for rescuing Kouga-kun. . ." Ginta muttered bitterly.  
  
"Oh? Is that. . . Oi! Kagome-chan!" Ayame spotted Kagome being comforted by Sango in the corner.  
  
Bankotsu was about to tell Renkotsu to tie Kagome up as well, but suddenly one of the walls fell in. When the dust settled, there stood Sesshoumaru, sheathing his sword as he walked in.  
  
"Yo, Bankotsu," Sesshoumaru nodded to him, then waved his hand, indicating Inuyasha and Kagome. "Can I take these two?"  
  
"Yeah, sure, just as long as they don't mind," Bankotsu was wiping wolf blood off his halberd.  
  
"Chotto matte!" Inuyasha cried out indignantly, "I'm not leaving!"  
  
Sesshoumaru turned to Kagome and thought spoke to her. ~Naraku is coming.~  
  
"Inuyasha, maybe we should go for now, okay?" Kagome struggled to stop herself from putting up her barrier.  
  
"Why do you always take his side?!!" Inuyasha whined.  
  
"I'm not taking his side, I'm just saying, I don't really like to see the sight of blood, and well," Kagome looked glanced, paling, around the floor, which was half-soaked in blood.  
  
"Oh, alright." Inuyasha sighed and began walking out of the room.  
  
"Kuso!" Masao, who had been hiding in the air vent all this time, covered his nose. The stench of wolf's blood was horrible! "Why did the have to go and kill ALL of them?!"  
  
Growling, he pulled a small red scarf out of mid air and tied it around his nose. Masao then pulled out his little slingshot and an LPB. Now was his chance! Inuyasha was on his own, just inside the door! A clear shot!! ~Hmm. . .~ Masao thought, ~I'd better check how much potion I have left, just in case I miss again. . .~  
  
The little pixie-boy shimmered pink for a second, then a bottle appeared in his hand. Half left. ~Ok, I should be fine.~  
  
"Oi. Bankotsu-ooaniki. Could you let a little fresh air in here? It stinks worse than Georgio Armani's synthetic's storeroom on a humid day." Jakotsu pinched his nose.  
  
"Yeah, I agree. The smell of a dead wolf is probably the worst smell in the world." Bankotsu walked over to a switchboard on the right-hand side of the stage and pressed the button that controlled the air vents.  
  
Masao looked up from the bottle. What did they say? They were going to let -in- some air? But that would mean. . .  
  
A charge of air hit Masao from the back like a brick wall. He lost his balance, but manages to keep a hold onto the potion. . . for about five seconds. he had let go of the bottle to grab onto the side of the vent. Masao watched helplessly as the bottle flew from his hand and smashed against the floor of the metal tunnel.  
  
"That's it. . . its all over. . . Sesshoumaru-sama will never forgive me after this. . . " Masao gazed, depressed, as a fine pink mist rose from the shattered remains of the bottle and flew out of the vent into the warehouse, where everyone else was.  
  
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OK~ that's all I cant do for now, getting a little too long, so R+R! 


	19. Love is in The Air and Kagome Gets Kidna...

IK19  
  
Ohayo! Good news, I've gotten much better and can write again!!! ^^!! Once I've finished this fanfic, I'll probably start a new one, so stay tuned! This is only a short sorta chap, but I dunno, review if u hav time!  
  
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"Well well well. . ." Naraku walked over the remains of Sesshoumaru's entrance. "What a little reunion we have here."  
  
"Uh?" Jakotsu dully glanced over his shoulder, but his face lit up as soon as he saw Naraku. "Oh! U-sama! What a surprise! What are you doing here?"  
  
"A little birdie told me that a kitty had been threatening her," he replied coolly, then Kikyo stepped out from behind him and smirked. "And that the little kitty needs to be taught a lesson."  
  
"Kikyo!" Bankotsu snarled, "U-sama! Why are you defending her?!"  
  
"Money makes the world go round, Bankotsu-kun," Naraku smiled, pulling a familiar looking black wallet from his coat.  
  
"Hey! That's mine! Kikyo you b@*%h!"  
  
Sesshoumaru wasn't really troubled by the entrance of Naraku, besides the fact that he was obviously there to get Kagome. But there was something not quite right . . . . something smelt fishy. . . wait. . . that wasn't fish!  
  
"Kagome-san! Cover your nose!" Sesshoumaru jumped up to one of the steel rafters that latticed across the roof. Searching the warehouse, he spotted a strange glittering coming from one of the air vents. "Kuso. . . Masao, anta BAKA!"  
  
"Sesshoumaru! What's going on? Why are you up there?" Bankotsu frowned, "Jeez, what's the idiot. . . waiting for. . .?" Suddenly a strange, dreamy look came over his features. "Sesshou-chan!!!!"  
  
"Kuso!!!! Too late!!!" Sesshoumaru cursed. Bankotsu's "love" for him would probably complicate things. "Kagome-can! Omae wa doko!!"  
  
"Jakotsuuuuuuu!" Ayame whined, the dreamy expression on her face as well, "Tasuketeeeeeeeeeeeee!"  
  
"Nani?!" Can't you seem I'm a little -busy- here?!??!"  
  
"Jako, get OFF me!"  
  
"Myaaaaa~ Come on, ooaniki, you know you want me. . . "  
  
"The only thing I want is to GET OFF ME! And Sesshoumaru too, of course. . ."  
  
"Sesshoumaru?!?! Why would you want HIM!?!?"  
  
"I don't know, I just do!"  
  
"Bankotsu-ooaniki~~. . . . ."  
  
"Grr!" Bankotsu kicked Jakotsu off him and jumped into the air. "Sesshou- chaaaaaaaaaa-"  
  
*SMACK*  
  
Sesshoumaru had pulled out his sword and let Bankotsu jump into the blunt side.  
  
"*Sigh*" Looking down at the chaos, he sheathed his sword and sighed.  
  
"Ayame-chan! Marry me!"  
  
"Eeeeeeeeeya! Get away from me!! Jakotsu!!!!!"  
  
"Miroku-kun! Why not leave that TART Sango and hook up with me??"  
  
"EXCUSE ME, KIKYO?!?!?"  
  
"Well its true, Miroku-chan would look SO much better with ME on his arm!"  
  
"Come over here and say that!!"  
  
"Now, now, ladies. . ."  
  
"Kikyo-sama!!! Aishiteru!!!!"  
  
"Yaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!!! Mukotsu!?!? Get it AWAY from me!!! Miro-chan!!! Tasukete!!!"  
  
"Mi. . . . Miro-chan!?!?"  
  
"Hai, MIRO-CHAN, you got a problem with that, Sango?"  
  
"Hey! Don't speak to Sango-himesama like that!"  
  
"Eh? And what are YOU gonna do, KOUGA? In case you haven't noticed, you're tied up!"  
  
"Jakotsuuuuu!!!"  
  
"What the hell is wrong with you people?!" Inuyasha was still standing at the doorway. He must have been breathing the air outside, so he wasn't affected.  
  
"Inuyasha!!!" Renkotsu threw himself at the hanyou.  
  
"GAAAAAAARH!!!!!!! WTF!!!!!" Inuyasha smacked the weirdo across the face with his fist.  
  
"INU-CHAN!!!! TASUKETE!!!!" Kagome's terrified scream echoed through the warehouse.  
  
"Ah? Nani?" Inuyasha looked to where Kagome's voice had come from. That's when he spotted Naraku - through the hole in the wall he had come in - throwing Kagome into the back of a black car. "Kame-chan!!!"  
  
"Urasai!" Naraku growled and slipped a rosary-bracelet onto her wrist. Kagome's face went blank and she stopped struggling. Jumping in behind her, he demanded the driver, "GO! GO!"  
  
"Kagome!!!!" Inuyasha leapt over the crowd of love-struck people and through the hole, but Naraku's car was already screeching around the corner. "Get back here, YAROU!!!!"  
  
"Go back to your kennel, koinu,"[baby dog, puppy basically] Naraku popped out of the sunroof of the car with a sniper rifle. ~KUSO!!!~ Inuyasha tried to dodge, but it was too late. He fell from the sky like a dead bird. . .  
  
"Inuyasha!!!!" Renkotsu came running from the warehouse, eyes glittering with tears. "Inuya, daijoubu?"  
  
"Tha. . . that. . . bastard. . . he. . . he has . . . ka. . . Kagome . . . " Inuyasha managed, blood staining across his shirt. "I. . . I have to go. . . save.. . . ."  
  
"Inuyasha! Stay still!" Sesshoumaru was walking towards them. "That would will only get worse if you try and be a hero."  
  
"Why should I listen to y-" Inuyasha cringed in pain. Even though he was a hanyou, Inuyasha was no match for a bullet.  
  
"Just hold still!" Sesshoumaru knelt down beside his brother and unbuttoned his blood-drenched shirt, revealing a dark red pool of blood around a black cylinder, lodged in the middle of his chest. "You're lucky, it hit your sternum, so you'll probably only get a scar."  
  
"My what?"  
  
"The bone in the middle of your chest, it holds your ribs together," Sesshoumaru explained. He wasn't sure why he was being so nice to his brother. ~Maybe its Kagome's influence?~ his mind asked him. "Renkotsu, go call for an ambulance. Wait, no, let me do it. Bankotsu, get me a blanket or something, so we can stop this bleeding."  
  
"Se. . . Sesshoumaru. . ." Inuyasha frowned weakly at him. "Doushite?"  
  
"For Kagome's sake, okay? Just stop talking for a while." Sesshoumaru took the blanket from Bankotsu and applied quite a lot of pressure to his wound. ~Why AM I doing this?~ "Jakotsu, come here, hold this down on his wound, the bleeding should stop."  
  
"Demo. . . .Kagome. . . "  
  
"We'll look for her later. So shut up and get better for now." Sesshoumaru gave Inuyasha a hard pinch on his shoulder pressure point, making him pass out. "That will keep him quiet for a while."  
  
He pulled a small silver mobile from his pocket and dialled the number for Takedai's small surgery. They were the only youkai doctors for miles, even though they weren't the most experienced.  
  
"Ah, Moshimoshi? Sumimasen, Riku-kun, Inuyasha just got shot. . ." Sesshoumaru pushed the phone away from him as Shodenzou Riku, one of Sesshoumaru's classmates and almost like an elder sister to Inuyasha, began yelling at him.  
  
"WHAT?!?! SESSHOU!!! How could you let him get hurt like that?!?! Where were you? How did this happen? Don't move him! I'll be right over!" and the line went dead. A second later, it rang. It was Riku. "Where are you guys anyway?"  
  
Sesshoumaru sweatdropped. He told Riku where they were and hung up. ~At least she's still the same,~ he thought to himself. Minutes later, a red cloud came from the sky and zoomed across the pier away from them.  
  
"Riku-kun! Over here!" Sesshoumaru waved to her. Suddenly the cloud poofed and vanished, revealing a cute but extremely distressed teenager about Sesshoumaru's age, dressed in a nurses uniform and carrying a white box with the red cross on it. She bolted over to where Inuyasha lay, surrounded by an ominous pool of blood.  
  
"Inuyasha!!!" She dropped to her knees by his side an immediately set about removing the bullet from him. Less than 10 minutes later, Riku declared that he should be as god as new, as long as he ate well and got a good night's sleep.  
  
"Fat chance of that," Inuyasha muttered, as Riku sat him up, "I'll probably be up all night, now that I know Kagome's gone. Who knows what that hentai yarou is doing to her?!"  
  
"Inuyasha, calm youself, Kagome is perfectly capable of looking after herself," Sesshoumaru told him, all-knowingly.  
  
"Yeah, but I saw Naraku put some weird bracelet on her! You should have seen her face after, it was totally blank, like . . . like. . . . like her soul wasn't there. . . " Inuyasha looked away. It was painful to recall that look; that look of complete emotionlessness. . .  
  
Checking the time on his watch, Sesshoumaru told Inuyasha that he'd better get home soon if he was going to have any chance of finding Kagome the next day. That said, Sesshoumaru leapt up onto a nearby roof and headed home. ~How does he expect me to sleep!?!? Kagome is out there with that pathetic excuse for a youkai!!!~ Inuyasha cursed.  
  
"Come on, Inuya, I'll drop you off," Bankotsu offered.  
  
"Nah, I think I can manage," he stood up with a slight wince and walked over to his bike. Grinning defiantly to the leader, he revved up and zoomed out of the docks.  
  
"That idiot," Bankotsu smirked, "That girl's gonna get him killed one day."  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*At the Marekete house. . . .*^~*^~*^~*^~  
  
"Tadaima. . . " Inuyasha shoved the door open and walked through, one hand to his chest. Even Riku's morphine shots couldn't calm the pain that still burdened him, his paining for the loss of Kagome. . .  
  
"You should really stop acting like she's died, baka otooto," Sesshoumaru was walking in from the dining room, dressed in a bathrobe and holding a mug of tea.  
  
"Why not? For all we know, she could be!" Inuyasha shut the door behind him and began ascending the stairs.  
  
"Hmph. You have that little faith in her?" Sesshoumaru stood placidly looking out the window, staring at nothing. "I'd like to think she's alive, rather than dead, wouldn't you?"  
  
Inuyasha said nothing else, and went to his room.  
  
"I thought so." Sesshoumaru looked up at the stairs, but he wasn't really looking at them. It was more like he was looking past them, lost in thought.  
  
~*Kagome! Can you hear me?*~ Sesshoumaru had been trying to reach her ever since he caught wind of the kidnapping, but all he got back was a strange sort of static. ~*Kagome! Answer me!*~  
  
~*Sesshoumaru?*~ a voice answered him, but it wasn't Kagome. It was a man's voice, and it sounded oddly familiar. . .  
  
~*Naraku! What are you doing in her thoughts?!*~  
  
~*Hahaha, Sesshoumaru, Sesshoumaru. . . You didn't think your little Kuroi Kumo no Tama would go unnoticed to a person like me? Tut tut, you really are losing your edge, cousin.*~ Naraku spoke (well, thought-spoke) slowly and poisonously, toying with Sesshoumaru's anger.  
  
~*Let me talk to Kagome!!*~ Sesshoumaru snarled.  
  
~*As you wish. . .*~ the line went static again, but it smoothed out and Kagome's voice came in.  
  
~*Moshimoshi? Who is this?*~ Her voice was empty and monotonous, a bit like Naraku's.  
  
~*Kagome! Yokata. Omae wa doko?*~  
  
~*But who is this?*~  
  
~*It's me, Sesshoumaru!!!!"*~  
  
~*Sesshoumaru-san? Ah, Komban wa, atashi wa-*~  
  
~* I know who you are! Stop kidding around and just tell me where you are so I can get come get you!!*~  
  
~*Why, though? I don't know who you are, do I?*~  
  
Sesshoumaru froze. His mug fell to the floor, but he didn't notice.  
  
~*What did you say?*~ he was sure he didn't hear right.  
  
~*I said, Why tell you where I am, because I don't even know who you are! For all I know, you could be some psycho maniac trying to kill me!*~  
  
~*Ka. . . Kagome. . . *~ Sesshoumaru felt he knees go weak.  
  
~*Ne, Naraku-sama wants to talk to you.*~  
  
Sesshoumaru was stunned. Kagome didn't have the slightest clue who he was. And what was with that voice?! It was. . . so . . . emotionless.. . . .  
  
~*Sesshoumaru? How did your talk with little Kagome-chan go?*~ Naraku was back.  
  
~*Don't talk to her like you're good friends!!!~ Sesshoumaru's temper was starting to break loose.  
  
~*Oh, but we are, aren't we, Kagome-chan? I even gave her a little bracelet earlier. She seemed to take a high liking for me after-*~  
  
Sesshoumaru couldn't stand it any longer. He cut the connection and went up to his room and changed into his youkai armour. Scribbling a quick message on a post it note, he stuck it onto a metal rectangle that had holes in it and slid t under Inuyasha's door. If he was going to find Kagome, he'd need all the help he could get.  
  
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^^! Nearly finished! Or is it? o.0? lol, R+R plz~ 


	20. The Search Begins

IK20  
  
YAY! Chap 20!!!! The 2nd dec.. . . .dec. . . decachap? I dunno, but it's the second time I've reached 10!!! Yay!!! Lol, um, u sorta get wat I mean. . .  
  
Read on!  
  
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~*Naraku, how did you find me?*~ Kagome thought-spoke to her captor, who had sealed her mind off to the world except him.  
  
"What do you mean? I saw you arrive with Renkotsu," Naraku idly fiddled with the cat-snake necklace he removed from her.  
  
~*No, I mean, how did you know I even existed?*~ She had been thinking about this for a while.  
  
"By watching from afar, and waiting for the right time," Naraku crushed the necklace and let the pieces fall from his hand. A surge of rage swept through Kagome's veins, but she kept it from Naraku.  
  
~*I still don't understand why you choose me,*~ If Kagome hadn't been paralysed, she would be looking away from him, but she was stuck facing forward. ~*You could probably have any other girl you wanted, if that was what you wished.*~  
  
Naraku stayed silent for a few moments, then asked hesitaintly, "You. . . do you remember anything from about 10 years ago?"  
  
~*10 years ago?*~ Kagome tried to recall it. ~*No. . .no, I don't remember anything from that year at all, besides making a promise to. . . to. . . to Inuyasha. . .*~  
  
"I thought so. . ." Naraku dusted off his hands and stared out the window for the rest of the trip. Kagome knew that the conversation was over.  
  
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It was around midnight when Inuyasha heard movement outside his door. He had been sitting on the windowsill ever since he got to his room, staring out towards the city, he wondered where Kagome could be, what she was doing now, if she was still alive. . .  
  
~What's with me these days? I never used to be like this, not even when I was going out with . . . Ki. . .Kikyo. . .~ Inuyasha's mind shut down as he nodded off to sleep.  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*Inuyashas's Dream*^~*^~*^~*^~  
  
"Inu-chan, tasukete!"  
  
Uh? What was that?  
  
"Inuyasha!! Onegai, tasukete!!!!"  
  
Ka. . . Kagome?  
  
"Inuyasha!!!! Hayaku!! Naraku . . .he. . . He's. . . "  
  
Inuyasha opened his eyes. He was at the Higurashi Shrine, sitting in a cherry tree. It must have been autumn, because there were more petals on the ground than in on the tree.  
  
"Kore wa. . ." Inuyasha looked down, and saw two little kids. One that looked like a mini version of himself, in a little red tracksuit and black bandanna, and one that looked like a little Kagome, in a blue shirt and black pants, both looking up at him curiously.  
  
"Ano ne, Onii-san, Why are you up in that tree?" the chibi Kagome asked.  
  
"Baka. Probably trying to hide from someone." chibi Inuyasha scoffed.  
  
"Inu-chan! Are wa usashi ko nai!" [that's not nice/kind] chibi Kagome began to climb the tree.  
  
"O . . .oi! Kame-chan! Get down from there!! You might get hurt!!" chibi Inuyasha climbed up after her.  
  
"Shimpaishite! [--don't worry] I can look after myself, you know," chibi Kagome sat side-straddle on a thick bough and gripped it with both hands on either side of her legs. With a defiant sort of smile to her friend, she flipped back and let go with her hands, so she was hanging by her knees. Then she looked at big Inuyasha again. "Ne, you look like Inu-chan. . ."  
  
"He does not!" chibi Inuyasha pouted sourly.  
  
"Hai, hai, Inu-chan," chibi Kagome knew better than to take on Inuyasha in a fight, whether it be verbal or physical.  
  
Suddenly, the two children faded away, as did the shrine around him. Even the tree faded and soon Inuyasha found himself surrounded by black. A small pink sphere suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and spoke.  
  
"Inu-chan? Are you there?"  
  
"Kagome?!"  
  
"Inu-chan, tasukete!"  
  
"Where are you?"  
  
"I'm. . . I don't know. . . It's dark, its cold, there's nothing there except me. . . its like I'm trapped in my own mind! I can see what's happening in the outside world, I can hear my voice, but its not me! Someone else has taken my mind! Inu-chan!! What's happened?!?" Kagome was panicky.  
  
"Kame-chan, calm down, what can you see?"  
  
"Um. . . I. . ." he could hear her trying to breathe. "I can see. . . I see a paper screen door. . . and um. . . I see. . . a wall. . . its got a weird painting. . . . its some sort of spider design,. . . . . .Inu-chan!! Just come help me!!!"  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*End Dream*^~*^~*^~*^~  
  
"Uah!" Inuyasha woke up with a start and nearly fell out of his window. "What that? What kind of dream was that? Was that. . . . real?"  
  
Inuyasha looked around as he heard a noise near his door. A holed metal slide with a post-it note on it was being slid under it. Curious, he slipped away from the window and picked up the slide.  
  
'Naraku has taken Kagome's consciousness. I am going to go look for her. If you need to contact me, use this. -S'  
  
It took about 3 seconds for Inuyasha to fling open his door, run down the hallway and cut Sesshoumaru off at the stairs.  
  
"What the hell is this?" he asked, deadly-calm, shoving the slide in his face. Sesshoumaru pushed his brother's hand out of his face. "And why are YOU running off to save MY girlfriend?!?"  
  
"That," Sesshoumaru pointed to the metal rectangle, "is a new little communicator I made last week. And about Kagome, do not be deluded into thinking that you are the only person that cares about her."  
  
"What?! You're INTERESTED in her?!?!" Inuyasha couldn't quite believe his ears. "Look Sesshoumaru, I swore to Kagome that I will support her for the rest of her life, but I don't want you in the picture as well, got it?"  
  
Sesshoumaru's brow twitched slightly, but his emotionless mask never moved.  
  
"Look, if you want to come, then come. But if that bullet wound makes you weak, and Kagome get endangered. . ." he warned, but Inuyasha "feh"ed.  
  
"Sesshoumaru, who do you think you're talking to? Lets go already." He leapt down the stairs in one leap and swung the door open. "Come on, move it!"  
  
But the moment the door swung shut, it creaked oped again.  
  
"Um, you wouldn't happen to have any idea where she is, would you?" Inuyasha murmured sheepishly. ~Kami-sama, tasukete,~ [--God help me] Sesshoumaru covered his eyes. ~He's as bad is Riku-kun!~  
  
"I can't seem contact her. Apparently Naraku is using a bracelet to bypass our semi-telekinetic communication -and- compromise her abilities to act emotionally, simultaneously . . ." Sesshoumaru began walking down the stairs thoughtfully.  
  
"And in English?" Inuyasha was lost.  
  
"He's blocking me thought-speaking to Kagome, and is suppressing Kagome's emotions."  
  
"Oh that's just GREAT. Simply PEACHY. NOW what are we supposed to do?!" Inuyasha closed the door and gave Sesshoumaru and annoyed expression.  
  
"What else can we do? There's only one other way to find her," Sesshoumaru adjusted the spiked bone plate that held around his left shoulder.  
  
". . . .how?" Sesshoumaru's complicated words and vague riddles left Inuyasha nonplussed and irritated.  
  
"Manually."  
  
"What?!? You mean, actually go out, and check every single street, avenue and HOUSE, for ONE person?!" Inuyasha stood, nonplussity and irritation gone, replaced by a flabbergasted shock.  
  
"Would you rather have Naraku have her forever?" Sesshoumaru walked passed his brother, who was still staring at the space that he had been standing. Then Inuyasha somehow came to his senses and stopped Sesshoumaru by grabbing his shoulder and spun his around.  
  
"But that could take days, maybe, weeks even!" he argued.  
  
"What other alternative do you suggest, then?" Sesshoumaru shrugged off his brother and left.  
  
"Dammit! I hate it when he's right!" Inuyasha pouted and followed.  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*out on the streets*^~*^~*^~*^~  
  
"Inuyasha! Any sign yet?" Sesshoumaru's voice crackled through the metal square.  
  
"Not yet," he replied, still searching over the east side. Sesshoumaru had agreed to take the south and west if Inuyasha took the north and east sides of town. "Chikusou,[--worse version of Kuso] I never noticed how big this freakin' town is. . . ."  
  
"Stop complaining, at least you didn't get the southside, ok?" the south of town had a reputation of being the home to several street gangs, and Sesshoumaru had to get out of a few sticky situations before.  
  
"Hey! I used to practically live there, but noooooOOOOOooooo, you just HAD to act all Mr Macho, didn't you?" Inuyasha taunted.  
  
"I choose the South because I know you want to find Kagome more, and there's less chance of her being in the South, because that's where she was taken from, Baka!" Sesshoumaru snapped back, "Stop talking and start looking!"  
  
Grumbling about Sesshoumaru getting the last word, Inuyasha put the metal slide back into his pocket and leapt off to sniff out the next building. Searching for one's person's scent in a city of tens of thousands of people wasn't easy.  
  
"I know, I'll go take a break." Inuyasha dropped down into an empty alley between two buildings and headed to a nearby coffee shop. Making sure his bandanna was still firmly tied to his head, he pushed open the door. A golden bell above tinkled, notifying the shopkeeper of his entrance.  
  
"Irasshai! [--welcome!] What would you like this evening?" A pretty teenage girl greeted his at the counter, smiling happily.  
  
"Kohii, kuroi. Hayaku, onegai."[--Coffee, black. Quickly please.] Inuyasha grunted and the girl bounced off to get his order. But that's when he saw it. . . a flicker of a familiar face, on the outside edge the window. . .  
  
"Kagome!" Inuyasha burst out of the coffee shop and ran to the girl, turning her around.  
  
"IIIIIIIYAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!! Don't touch me!!! Get away from me!!" Oops, wrong person. Inuyasha walked back into the shop with a fresh hand mark on his face, though you probably wouldn't have seen it, as his whole face was red anyway.  
  
"Ko. . . kohii, kuroi. Douzo," the girl smiled sympathetically and handed him a steaming paper cup, black-brown liquid swirling inside. Inuyasha silently paid for it, took a cup cover and left.  
  
"Kame-chan. . ." Inuyasha sat on the edge of a building, feet dangling 100 metres above the ground. He finished his coffee and chucked the cup down onto the street. Taking a deep breath of night air, he could smell a faint trace of vanilla and jasmine, a sort of light scent that reminded him of Kagome. "Huh? Kagome?! That's Kagome's scent!"  
  
Leaping to his feet, he sniffed again. It had disappeared. But he was sure he had smelt it! Inuyasha could never forget that smell! Whipping out the metal slide, he called in Sesshoumaru.  
  
"Sesshoumaru! I've caught a bit of Kagome's scent on the north-east area, on the Furuba and Associates building."  
  
"What do you mean?!" Sesshoumaru's voice was surprised but interested.  
  
"I. . . caught,. . . .her. . . scent. . ." he repeated slowly. "I do know what she smells like, okay?"  
  
"No I mean, which direction was the wind blowing, baka," Sesshoumaru jumped from building to building, heading to where Inuyasha had said.  
  
"Um. . . " Inuyasha checked his hair, "Towards the harbour."  
  
"All right, head north Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru cut the communication and went faster. They were almost there!  
  
Sesshoumaru met up with Inuyasha a few miles north of the Furuba building. After a brief interrogation of why he had a handmark on his cheek, the pair sped on. The further north they went, the more traces of scent they found. Later they found a faint trickle of it leaking from a black car outside a house. The windows were tinted much darker than was legal, but Sesshoumaru could still see that there was nothing inside, except for the shattered remains of the necklace Sesshoumaru had given her. Filled with a fresh surge of hatred, Sesshoumaru walked up to the house.  
  
It was an old style of Japanese mansion, with a tall, thick and heavily armoured white wall around the edge of the property, a large wooden gate and most likely a horde of guards on the inside.  
  
"You wanna do it, Mr Macho? Or can I?" Inuyasha checked out his claws. "But I'd rather save my energy for later."  
  
"Suit yourself," Sesshoumaru kicked down the door easily and unsheathed his sword, swung it once and passed through a new graveyard.  
  
"Show-off," Inuyasha muttered, but followed.  
  
Sesshoumaru slashed down screen after screen, checking every room before knocking everyone out. He tried his best not to kill anyone, but once in a while a stupid thick-headed guard tried to take him down.  
  
"We're looking for a room with a spider design on the wall," Inuyasha suddenly said, remembering the dream. Sesshoumaru raised his arm to strike down another screen down but stopped, and looked around at his brother.  
  
"How do you know that?" Sesshoumaru lowered his sword.  
  
"Lets just say. . . intuition. . ." Inuyasha used his Sankon Tessou while Sesshoumaru was preoccupied, revealing a large, dark room in front of them.  
  
On the left wall of the room, was a closed and locked window. It was incredibly stuffy and dark in there. On the right wall, was a large, ornate, picture that depicted a scene of men being killed by a huge spider- youkai, that took up half the scene. The lights were off, and the only lumination came from the hallway light, which spread across only half the room.  
  
"Kame-chan!" Kagome was sitting in the middle of the room, facing slightly towards the spider picture. She was still dressed in her school uniform, which was a good sign, but her face was eerily devoid of emotion. Inuyasha ran forward and shook her, but to no avail. It was then he noticed the bracelet. Inuyasha tried to pull it off, but once he touched it, it glowed white and forced his hand away.  
  
*Clap, clap, clap. . .*  
  
"Well done, Inuyasha," Naraku walked out of the shadows ominously, clapping his hands with a cruel smirk curling on his lip. Suddenly the room was bathed in light as torches in brackets on the walls flared into life. "You managed to find us. And Sesshoumaru too! What a surprise. . . not. . ."  
  
"Naraku! Teme yarou. . .[--You bastard]" Inuyasha rose to his feet. "What have you done to Kagome?!"  
  
"Oh, Nothing. I just gave her a present, that's all. The bracelet, in case you haven't noticed it yet. . ." Naraku's voice was calm and pleasant, making Inuyasha madder than ever.  
  
"Ok, THAT'S IT! You, me, no weapons, one-on-one. Let's go," Inuyasha raised his fists. "Sesshoumaru! Take Kagome and go already!"  
  
"Reminds me. . . . why ARE you here, anyway, Sesshoumaru?" Naraku smiled curiously, a hint of superiority and evil behind it.  
  
"K-Kore wa. . . "Sesshoumaru looked over at Inuyasha. He wasn't about to say, 'because I love Kagome' right in front of him! Inuyasha was already going out with her for goodness sake! Then what was he supposed to say, 'because I felt like it'? 'Because I wanted to do a good deed?'  
  
Naraku's grin grew wider.  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*|*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~  
  
Ahhh. . . another cliffy. . . . . feels good, don't it? lol, R+R! 


	21. I love him more than any other!

IK21

Lalalalala. . . . muhahaha. . . | \/\/33]\[ o|= ( ]_ ][ |= |= ][ 3 _\¯! Newai, super-long chap for u all to enjoy~ watch out -  its might twist in a WHOLE COMPLETELY different direction!!!MUAHAHAHAHAHA Oh, and re-did chap 20, coz I made a mistake in it.

~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*|*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~

Naraku's grin grew wider. 

"Be. . . .becau. . . because. . . " Sesshoumaru gulped. It was definitely a new experience, being stuck for words. His mind raced with different thoughts, ranging from "to kill you" to "I love her".

"Never mind that! You're just stalling so you won't have to fight me, coward!" Inuyasha snapped, pissed that Naraku would turn the attention to his brother instead of fighting him. [KC11: *points at you*  Haha! Haha! Made u guess go syko ova the cliffie for nothing!! Haha! Lol, *ahem* anyway….]

"Oh, am I?" Naraku laughed. "Alright then, Inuyasha, I'll fight you. . . .   on one condition. . ."

"Nani!" Inuyasha claws were itching to sink themselves into Naraku. 

Naraku closed his eyes, and a scary red light surrounded him. He grew about half a metre taller, and his clothes changed from his crisp suit into his youkai armour. His voice dropped, making 

him even more intimidating.

"You have to catch us first!" He rumbled in his deep voice. Raising his hand towards her, he made Kagome fly over to him. With his other hand, he made a sweeping motion in front of him, and a 30 metre wall of fire separated them. The walls around them faded away, and soon they were just standing on dirt and grass. 

"Screw this," Inuyasha leapt through the flames, leaving Sesshoumaru standing slightly bemused behind him. 

"Inuyasha covered up for me. . .  did he?" Walking towards the flames, the youkai wondered if he should follow or not. "Or was he just wanting to kill Naraku, like he said?" 

"Sesshoumaru! Get over here already!" Inuaysha's voice crackled out from the communicator he made. For once, he felt thankful as he jumped through the wall of flames. 

"What the. . . .?" Sesshoumaru looked around. They were in an extremely tall metallic cylinder. Halfway up the cylinder, was a platform. Naraku was there, still grinning pompously down at them. 

"Come on then, you want her? Come get her!" He challenged. Laughing evilly, he pushed a button on the wall and extremely long, extremely scary-looking spikes shot in through the walls, obscuring their view of Naraku, as well as just generally being scary.

Sesshoumaru brought out his jyaki [--sorta like an evil presence…. Let's call it evil energy….] sword and swung it at Naraku. 

"NO!" Suddenly Inuyasha was in front of him, with the Tetsuseiga out, parrying Sesshoumaru's sword. "Sesshoumaru, yada!!" [--stop!]

"What are you doing?!" Sesshoumaru hissed. 

"You. . . you. . ." Inuyasha was struggling under the stain of holding off his brother's attack. "You might hit Kagome too!"

As Sesshoumaru stared into that determinded face of his brother, he realised. . . 

Inuyasha was the only one who could ever be with her. . . . . . . 

When Kagome was kidnapped, who was the one that went after her? Inuyasha, of course. He was more concerned about Kagome's life than his own. He got –shot-, just because he loved her. He was willing to risk his life, just to prolong hers. 

And what had Sesshoumaru done? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Probably the only thing he'd done was go on the voyage to find her, but even then, it was Inuyasha who found her. The one reason Inuyasha was here was because of Kagome. Sesshoumaru, well, he was there for her, too, but was he not there to take revenge on Naraku, too? Was he really after Naraku because of Kagome, or was it the fact that Naraku took something that he –thought- was his in the first place? Was he not acting just like Kouga? To whom he had said, "….maybe you should stop focusing on what someone else already has and try unravelling your eyes from that veil of denial. . ."?

Something he had told Inuyasha a long time ago floated through his mind; "Kagome's a lovely girl, and I don't want her to be sad. You will make her sad. . ."

Sure, Inuyasha might make her sad, but at least he cares. . . At least he cares about -what's- been stolen, not that it -has- been stolen. . . . . 

"Fine, you're right." Sesshoumaru eased off Inuyasha and put away his sword. Pointing up to the nest of spikes above them, added, "Then how do you supposed we get through all this?" 

"What other way is there, if we don't know that Kagome isn't up there? We have to climb. Stick to the edges, where the spikes are bigger, that way there's a less chance of getting your eye gouged out." Inuyasha sped off, darting about the outer edges. 

~As much as much as I hate to admit it,~ Sesshoumaru thought to himself as he followed his hanyou brother, ~He actually can be sort of useful at times.~ 

In no time at all they had reached the top platform, and found that it lead to a brightly lit, white-walled hallway. They exchanged curious glances, and walked down it. there was a whooshing sound behind them, and when they looked back, the entrance they had come in was now a wall. 

"No turning back now, I guess," said Sesshoumaru, shrugging carelessly. 

At the end of the hallway they found a button on the ceiling. Sesshoumaru reached up for it, but Inuyasha shot his hand up and got there first. Smirking smugly to his brother, he watched as the wall in front of them slid up, to reveal a hexagonal room, painted the same blinding white as the hallway. 

To the right, there was a blue door with a silver handle. To the left, was a red door with a copper handle. Instantly either brother was drawn to the door that suited them most. Sesshoumaru was about to reach for his handle, but then stopped. 

"Inuyasha, don't you think-" *click* he turned to the red door, but it had already swung shut, and by the sounds of that click, it was deadlocked. "*sigh* oh well. . . ." Sesshoumaru turned and went through the door. 

~^*~^*~^*~^* Somewhere else . . . *^~*^~*^~*^~

"Kagome? Are you okay?" Naraku's face swam into view as Kagome opened her eyes. 

"Wh. . . . where am I?" Kagome got up groggily. Then, with sudden realisation, slapped a hand to her mouth. "I. . . I can talk! I can move! W. . . wait, what happened here? Why are you freeing me?" 

"I realised that a butterfly can only be truly beautiful if it is free," Naraku, satisfied that she was ok, stood up and adjusted his collar. "If you pin it down in a collection, then only a portion of its beauty is shown. Real beauty comes from inside, not from that which is on the outside."

Kagome looked around her. She seemed to be in a white-walled room, sitting on a sleek black couch. Directly in front of her was a desk with various papers and pen strewn across its surface, and to her left in the far corner was one of those water coolers. Turning around a bit more, she saw a blue door on her left, and a red door on her right. The only light came from lamps in the floor, which shone upwards and created multiple shadows as you walked around. A tall fern was growing in a terracotta pot in the right far corner. 

"Um. . . .I don't want to seem rude, especially after that nice speech, but where am I?" Kagome asked meekly. On the inside she rolled her eyes at herself. This was the guy who kidnapped her and sealed her mind inside her! Why should she have to be polite?! 

"Oh, This office?" Naraku looked at the desk ruefully. "It isn't real, but it's a replica of the office that Father's co-workers made me slave away, day after day, for 3 years. . ." 

"N. . .Naraku, You didn't answer my question from before," Kagome could see that some painful memories were coming back to him, and decided to change the topic. "Why me?" 

Naraku's mouth twitched, as though trying to hide a smile. "You said before. .  . you remember nothing from 10 years ago, except for making. . . .  making a promise? To whom?"

"To Inuyasha. . ." Kagome could have sworn Naraku twitched slightly at the mention of the Hanyou's name. 

"You are absolutely positive it was him?" He refused to look at Kagome. 

"Yes, I'm pretty sure, I remember a boy in red, with dog ears," said Kagome slowly and patiently, though she was getting slightly irritated. 

"That's all?" 

"Yes, that's it. I remember throwing a coin into a well with him, but nothing after that." 

"Heh. I thought so." 

Naraku walked over to his desk and pulled out a red bandanna. Returning to Kagome, he offered it to her. 

"W-What do I do?" she stammered. Naraku said nothing, but kept looking away from her. She cautiously reached out a trembling hand, and grasped the material. 

All at once, every memory Kagome had ever seen, forgotten, remembered and lost again, came rushing back to her. Her first word…. Her first birthday…. Her second birthday…. Getting Buyo…. 

But then, something so shocking fell into her mind that she flung the scarf away from her in fear. 

"W. . . What was that?!?!?" Kagome looked up at Naraku with eyes wide. 

"That, Kagome, was the truth." Naraku folded up the bandanna and threw it back onto his desk. 

~^*~^*~^*~^*Behind the red door…..*^~*^~*^~*^~

Inuyasha was walking along yet another white corridor, which the red door had lead his to. Sometimes the path would go up, then turn sharply to the left or right, and since all the walls seemed to melt into the other, Inuyasha ended up smacking his head on the wall in front of him. Therefore, he devised a way to prevent this – walking with his hands outstretched. 

"Godammit. . . I've been walked for AGES. . . ." Inuyasha's arms were getting tired. After walking a while his arms just became too much, so he let them flop. But. . . .

*Smack*

"DAMMIT!!!!" Inuyasha stumbled backwards a little and held his nose. "Ouch. . . . right on the nose. . ." 

He walked for a little while longer, then came to a dead end. "Oh this is just FAAAAAAAAAAAAANtastic. . . . " Inuyasha got a little twitchy-thing and pulled out the Tetsuseiga, but his little communicator crackled out his Brother's voice. 

"Inuyasha! Did you come to a dead end too?" 

"Yeah, I'm about to kick its ass too, why?" Inuyasha didn't even bother taking out the metal thing. 

"Look close at the wall." He did. 

"What am I supposed to be looking at?" 

"A little square in the wall, but I suppose you can't see it because your eyesight isn't as good as mine. . ."

"I can see it fine!" Inuyasha hissed, lying through gritted teeth. 

"Ok then, behind that, there should be another red button." Sounds of a door whooshing up echoed from the metal slide. Inuaysha dropped it and crushed the metal slide with his heel. ~Take THAT, baka-oniisan. . .~ 

Inuyasha didn't bother with looking for the red button. "KAZE NO KIZU!!!!!!!!!!!" with a great roar he smashed down the wall, and walked through.  

"I thought I told you to push the BUTTON, BAKA!!!!!!!!!" Sesshoumaru's sword gleamed from in the dust and Inuyasha had just enough time to block off his attack. Apparently Sesshoumaru had been on the other side. 

"Baka." Sesshoumaru seethed for a little while, but ended up giving his brother a death glare and walking off. "Come." 

"Hey! Why should I?" Inuyasha stood his ground. 

"How many times to I have to say it?!?! To find Kagome, brat!" Sesshoumaru indicated two doors, about 10 metres apart, identical to the pair at the start of the hallways. "What happened to your nose?" 

"Nothing! Lets go already!" Inuyasha walked to the red door and went through. Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes and walked through his own door. 

~^*~^*~^*~^* To Naraku's 'office'*^~*^~*^~*^~

"But. . . But. . . That can't be. . . Its just. . . not possible.. . . . ." Kagome was still in shock. 

"It's true. . . and that's why I know you. . . and that's why. . . why I was so jealous when Inuyasha started going out with you. . ." Naraku plopped down into his big swivel chair behind his desk. "So, What are you going to do now?" 

[KC11; Whoa whoa whoa, wait up there, just hang on a sec. . . .

Right now, you all are probably sitting on the edge of your seat, yelling "WHAT THE F*** WAS IT?!?!?!] 

[and you know what?]

[I'm not gonna teeee-eeelll……] 

[Lol, jk, let's get on with the story. And I will tell. Just to keep u guys happy]

Naraku plopped down into his big swivel chair behind his desk. "So, What are you going to do now?" 

 "I. . . I don't know. . . I've been waiting all my life for that promise. . . but now. . . . ." Kaogme wrapped her arms around her. She felt insecure. 

~^*~^*~^*~^*FLASHBACK*^~*^~*^~*^~

Chibi Kagome reached into her pocket and pulled out a coin. Holding onto one edge of the coin, she offered the other side to Inuyasha. He held it with her.

"We promise." They said in unison and tossed the coin into the well.

"KAGOME!!!!" A voice yelled out to her from outside. "KAGOME!!! THAT'S NOT ME!!!!" 

Kagome turned around and saw, unbelievably, -another- Inuyasha, dashing towards her. 

"Inu-chan? Why are you over there? You're already over. . ." Kagome looked to the 'Inuaysha' standing beside her. He had his eyes covered by the shadow of his fringe, for he was looking down, but ever so slowly he raised his head towards her. Instead of the warm amber eyes she had come to love, a pair of crimson eyes gleamed evilly at her. The boy's hair turned from sleek silver to a brownish-black, and he grew an inch of so taller. "U. . . U-sama?!?!" Kagome stumbled backwards and fell.[KC11; Hm. . . . . is it just me, or does that alwaiz happen when the damsel is it distress?] 

"FOOL!!!" He boomed, leering over Kagome threateningly, "Did you think I didn't know about you an little 'Inukkoro'!? We're supposed to be married in future years, Kagome, out parents already arranged that! But how can I share my family with a person who runs around with another boy?!" 

Inuyasha dashed into the well-house and stopped at the door. 

"Leave her alone, Naraku!" Inuyasha charged at Naraku, knocking him off balance and making his smack his head onto the edge of the well. He got up immediately and threw a punch to the Hanyou, which didn't miss. 

"Inu-chan!!! U-sama! YADA!!!" Kagome got to her feet and stood between the two boys. "That's ENOUGH!!!" Kagome braced herself for the impact of fists, but both boys had stopped short of hitting her. 

"Kagome. . . Don't make this any harder than it has to be. . ." said Inuyasha, a pained look in his eyes. Naraku didn't make a sound. 

"U-sama," Kagome didn't move, and kept her voice stable, which was a very hard thing to do when you're 5 years old. "Why did you dress up like Inu-chan?" 

"Because he's a-"

"Inuaysha, I didn't ask you. U-sama?" 

Naraku moved his fist away from the back of Kagome's head. 

"Be. . . Because. . . because you always spend more time with him than me, Even though -we-  are the ones who are supposed to get married. . ." Naraku's voice was slightly quieter than usual. Solemnly, Kagome turned around. 

"U-sama, Gomen nasai. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. . .but. . . " Kagome took a deep breath. "Atashi. . .  no Inu-chan ga. . . . suki. . . ." 

Naraku's heart snapped in half at the sound of those words. 

"Gomen nasai." Kagome looked away.

"Kagome! Inuyasha! U-bochan!" Kagome's mother rushed into the well-house. "Thank goodness! I was so worried about all of you!" 

~^*~^*~^*~^*END FLASHBACK*^~*^~*^~^*~

"Shiyuki-san. . .  She never told you why they moved away, did they?" asked Naraku conversationally. 

"I-iie. . ." 

"Heh. Well, after you confessed that you liked Inuyasha and not me, I told Father to call off the wedding. When he asked why, I told him. Naturally he would have just done away with you and your family, but I still cared about you, so he didn't. Plus, I believe your family has quite a team of lawyers.  So I told him to get rid of Inuyasha's family. And you know what he said?" Naraku's eyes glinted malevolently. 

". . . what did he say?" 

"He said no. So I thought to myself, If he won't do it, then I will." Naraku then let out an evil, triumphant laugh. Kagome gasped on the inside. ~N-Naraku killed his father!!!~ She wailed in her head. "It was a lot easier than you would think. My father made a lot of enemies as the Yakuza leader, so I just. . . .slipped them a little information. . .  and a little money.. . . . .  and they took care of it for me. I knew that no other male adult was doing to take over the title, and that it would be passed to me." 

"You. . . . .You MONSTER!!!" Kagome leapt to her feet. 

"And once I got control of the system, I threatened Inukkoro's family, and they left, leaving you for me to watch from then on. .. . . . . ." 

"Why didn't you just come after me then?!?!" Kagome was angry now. This WEIRDO, who had killed his father, had been watching her ever since she was little!?!

"Oh, I didn't want to be so nasty! I waited a little while, until I was sure that you had no hope whatsoever of Inuyasha's return. But as luck would have it, the stupid dog made his way back to you, to your very HIGH SCHOOL, and then had the nerve to fall in love with you again!!"

"And I still love him! Naraku, no matter what you do, I will always love Inuyasha more than anyone else!!! I'm sorry, and I really am flattered, but I can't love anyone else but him!" 

"K. . . . Kagome. . . .-san. . . ." Sesshoumaru had wanted through the door the moment she said 'matter'. 

"I'm sorry, Sesshoumaru, but that applies to you as well!"  Kagome stared down at her feet. Sesshoumaru will always be more handsome than Inuyasha, but Kagome will always love Inuyasha for what he is. Naraku will always be more powerful, and a whole lot richer, but still, Kagome would choose Inuyasha over him.  Looking over to the other door, she found Inuyasha smiling fondly at her. She looked at Naraku and Sesshoumaru in turn, and muttered something to both of them, before taking Inuyasha by the hand and leaving. 

"Gomen nasai. . . ." 

~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*|*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~

AAAAAAAawwwwww….. feel all warm and fuzzy, don't u? ^^ DW, not done yet! R+R!


	22. No, not the final chap, just a little th...

I'd just like to take a moment to thank everyone who has supported me throughout the making of this Fanfic, Especially those who hav reviewed every chap everytime I update, and just generally everyone for making this possible. Without your support I and sure I would hav never been able to finish it. No, this is not the final chapter, that's the next one. But I just want to let you all know that I acknowledge and thank you for all the wonderful reviews I hav gotten, and the constructive critism that makes me rethink on what I have done. I would also like to thank Robbie and Cat for being there when I needed them~! ^^ luv u guys! 


	23. Epilogue

Epilogue~~  
  
Yes, here it is, the last chap *tear, sniff sniff* ahem, plz enjoi, I will be writing another fic soon! It's a bit obvious who she gets married to, but meh, I thought I'd make it a lil interesting by (possibly) changing who she gets married to..:p.. (possibly) Sori this one is a little late, had a lot to do lately=P  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*|*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~  
  
5 Years Later. . .  
  
It was with a heavy heart that Kagome packed her clothes in the big suitcase Sesshoumaru had bought for her 20th birthday. She was on her way to college! Souta had desperately begged her not to go (which is a big thing for a middle-schooler) after she got hr acceptance letter into Tokyo U. If she really wanted to take studying seriously, she'd have to move to an apartment closer to the uni, which Sesshoumaru had also helped her rent out. ("Knowing Inuyasha, he'll probably spend all his money on gambling and won't pay rent, so I've already paid 6 months worth of rent for you.") Kouga, being Kouga, wanted to arrange for a chauffeur, ("Who knows what kind of psycho people are out there!?") but Kagome had to reassure him a few times that she could manage on her own. And Hojo, being Hojo, gave her a box of medicinal tea. ("Remember to drink a full cup before and after dinner, okay? We don't want you studying with a bad stomach!")  
  
~Those guys might be annoying,~ Kaogme thought to herself as she packed her black skirt into the case, ~But sometimes I'm glad I have them around.. . . . ~  
  
"KAGOME-'NEECHAN!!!" Souta came dashing intothe room, teary-eyed, and tackled Kagome down into a hug. "Don't go!!!!"  
  
"Gomen nasai, Souta," Kagome gave him a quick squeeze but gently pushed him away from her. "But I really want to take college seriously, and get a good job. . . You understand what I mean, right?"  
  
"W-What about Inu-no-niichan?" Souta dried his eyes.  
  
"He's moving in with me, remember? Though I must admit, I was really surprised when he got into Tokyo U as well," said Kagome, putting a hand on Souta shoulder. "And besides, I'm only moving across town! I'll come visit every day I can."  
  
"U. . . un. . . W-wakarimashita. . . . ." [-- Yea, I understand] he stood up and turned to go. Suddenly a bright idea hit Kagome.  
  
"Souta! Matte!" She pulled a box from under her bed and rummaged through it. Smiling, she withdrew from it a sparkly glass sculpture of a cat and dog, sitting side-by-side.  
  
"Uah! Kire!" Kagome put it in Souta's hands. He stared at it like it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. "Douzo, 'neechan!"  
  
"Ma~, just keep it to remember me by, okay?" Kagome punched him playfully on the shoulder. "Don't lose it or break it, okay?"  
  
"Hai!" and Souta walked slowly back out of the room.  
  
"Kagome-chan, are you done?" Mama had decided to come pay a visit.  
  
"Nearly, Mama," Kagome closed the lid to the suitcase and clicked the locks into place. She then packed her backpack with simple things like pens, pacers, pencils, books, food, etc. "Ok, ready!"  
  
"Hai. I'll come visit you when you get settled in. Are you sure you're going to be safe?" Mama had been trying hard all day not to cry.  
  
"Mama, daijoubu! Inu's had a license for ages, I think he can manage a drive across town." Truthfully, she wanted to stay, but she had to move. It was for the greater good.  
  
"Kame-chan!!!" Inuyasha's voice echoed through the house from the front. "Ikuzo!!"  
  
"Well, there's my ride." Kagome looked at her Mama and smiled. Suddenly a wave of homelyness came over her and she began to cry. "Mama!!!!"  
  
"Daijoubu, Kagome," Mama smiled and hugged her daughter. "When it's your time to go, you have to go, right?"  
  
"Haha. . ." Kagome chuckled, wiping her eyes. "Anyway, your right. I have to move on."  
  
"Kagome! Hayaku!" Inuyasha called again.  
  
"Coming! Coming!" Kagome quickly grabbed her bags, gave Mama a last hug and dashed out the door.  
  
"Took ya long enough," Inuyasha mumbled. He had traded in his bike after he graduated, so now he owned a Skyline.  
  
"Come on! Let's go!"  
  
"Hey! Isn't that -my- line?!"  
  
"Not anymore!"  
  
"Kagome! Get back here!"  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*At the Apartment..*^~*^~*^~*^~  
  
Inuyasha had stayed downstairs to get the bags, so Kagome was left to open the door. She was kinda of amazed at how tall the building was; around 20 floors or so of pure residentialness.  
  
"20A . . . . .20B. . . . 20C. . . . ." Kagome walked down the hallway, checking the letters on the doors as she went along. After a few minutes, she came to a half-black, half-white door that had 20H on it. "Here we go! 20H!"  
  
Kagome held up the shiny gold key she'd gotten from Sesshoumaru. Sighing, she looked at it happily.  
  
"To new beginnings," She whispered, and opened the door to their new apartment.  
  
Inside, there was about a square metre of wooden flooring (for shoes) and a then a step. Beyond that, there was a huge expanse of cream coloured carpet, then to the right there was an elevated kitchen, to the left there were 2 door, one black and one white, and straight in front of her was a balcony.  
  
"Uahh!!! A balcony!!!!" Kagome dropped her shoes and ran over.  
  
"Oi Kagome. . . you opened that door yet?!?" Even though he was a hanyou, Inuyasha still had a little bit of trouble with Kagome's heavy suitcase, along with his own.  
  
"Inu-chan! Come look! Its so pretty!!" Kagome stood on the balcony, leaning on the rail and looking awestruck at the orange sunset on the horizon. Inuyasha dropped the suitcases in front of the two doors and walked over, putting his arms around her from behind.  
  
"Yeah, it is, isn't it. . . ." Kagome giggled and turned around in his arms. He was smiling knowingly at her.  
  
"What are you so happy about?" Kagome asked, pouting slightly.  
  
"Mmm.. ." Inuyasha fondled the small navy blue box in his pocket. ~Should I?~ he asked himself. "I'll tell you later, okay?"  
  
"Iiiiiiieeeeee. . . . . " Kagome gave him the sad puppy dog face. "I wanna know now. . . . please. . . ?"  
  
"Hahaha! You're so cute when you wanna know something~ I'll tell you later, I promise, okay?"  
  
"Okay then. Oh! I have to go call my okaa-san. I promised her I would when I got here."  
  
"Un. Tell her I said hello!" Inuyasha lets her go. "But you've only been gone a few minutes!"  
  
"Yeah, but they still miss me!" reasoned Kagome as she went through her handbag.  
  
"Sesshoumaru! I couldn't do it!" Inuyasha hissed discreetly into his collar. Sesshoumaru, 22, rich and successful, had invented a new communication device. Since Sesshoumaru was older and "wiser" then he was, Inuyasha had turned to him for help (of course, so he claimed, as a 'last- resort choice).  
  
"You chicken!" Sesshoumaru's taunting voice came back at him. "Jeez, how hard can it be? Its just a 4-word question!"  
  
"Its not -a- question, Mr Big-Shot, its -THE- question!!!" he snapped back.  
  
"*sigh* Wait, you're not getting cold feet, are you?"  
  
"A-as if!!"  
  
"Then ask her!"  
  
"But. . . .I want it to ask her. . . . so that it's special. . . not just in this apartment. . ."  
  
"Then invite her to dinner! Baka!"  
  
"Shut up!" Inuyasha cut off the link and walked through the white door. Kagome was sitting on one of her suitcases, saying goodbye. He could hear the muffled words "My little girl's all grown up!" through sobs.  
  
"Hai, hai, Mama, I have to go now, okay? Okay. Love you too. Bai-bai!" Kaogme flipped back up her phone and looked at Inuyasha expectantly, as though she knew he was going to ask her something.  
  
"Hey Kagome, you wanna go out t-to dinner tonight? You know, to celebrate moving in and everything. . ." Inuyasha looked away.  
  
"I'd love to!" Kagome checked her watch. "You know what? It's almost 7pm. I'll just go find something to wear and we can go, okay?"  
  
An idea popped into Inuyasha's head at that point. "On that thought, try to dress formal, Sess has a 5-star restaurant a few blocks away, lets go there!" Kagome frowned. Hoshiosora was an extremely expensive restaurant, plus it was almost always booked out.  
  
"Okay then. . ." Kagome wasn't sure what he had planned, but she left the room anyway. As soon as the door shut behind her, Inuyasha went straight for his collar.  
  
"Oniisan! Tasukete!! I told Kagome that-"  
  
"You told her that you booked at place at my restaurant, right?"  
  
"Uh. . . yeah. . . ."  
  
"And you want me to help you out?"  
  
"Uh. . . . yeah. . ."  
  
"And you still haven't asked her?"  
  
"Uh. . . . no. . ."  
  
"And what do I get in return?"  
  
"I. . . haven't thought about it yet. . ."  
  
"Tsk tsk."  
  
"So, What do you think? Are you gonna help me or what?"  
  
"Inuyasha, its not like we're kids anymore! I could lose a few hundred dollars if I bump someone else off the reservations list. . ."  
  
"Come on Sess, be a bro!"  
  
"Pfft. You think I'm going to help -you-? Just like that?"  
  
Inuyasha's hope dropped like a stone. There goes his 'romantic evening'.  
  
"Alright then. I guess you wont help me."  
  
"You're right. I wont help you. But what kind of friend would I be if I didn't give Kagome this chance?"  
  
".. . . .. ."  
  
"It means I'll help you, Baka."  
  
"Oh! I knew that! Haha. . . ."  
  
"What?! Not thanks?!?!"  
  
"A-arigato, Oniisan!"  
  
". . . .don't call me that."  
  
"H-hai, Arigato Sesshoumaru."  
  
"*ahem*"  
  
"Oh ALRIGHT, Sesshoumaru-'sama'."  
  
". . . . .I'm waiting. . . ."  
  
"Please don't make me do it. . ."  
  
"Properly, otooto!"  
  
"FINE! Arigato, gozaimasu, Sesshoumaru-SAMA! Satisfied?!"  
  
"Totemo. Wakarimashita,[--Very. Right,] I'll book the special table for you two. I'll send the family limo around to get you - which colour?" Sesshoumaru's voice was different, more superior-sounding than usual.  
  
"Silver! Grr!" Irritated, Inuyasha snapped the little communicator off his collar and crushed it under his foot, just like he had 5 years ago.  
  
"If you're trying to destroy my new invention, it wont work, I already bakaotooto-proofed it."  
  
Inuyasha threw it out the window.  
  
"Inuyasha, what do you think?" The hanyou looked around to find Kagome dressed in a very attractive black dress. It had a low-cut collar and was ankle length, which made it swish and sway around her like water. She had matched it with large silver hoop earrings, and the silver dog necklace Inuyasha had given her when she graduated from high school.  
  
Luckily, the doorbell rang, so Kagome didn't see Inuyasha start to drool. She walked over to the door and turned back to Inuyasha, who had snapped out of his daze by then.  
  
"Go get dressed already!" she said, then went back to the door, opened it and screamed. "UAAAAAAAAAHH!!!! JA-KUN!!!"  
  
"Ka-chan! You look absolutely -GORGEOUS-!!!" Jakotsu stood at the door, dressed in a chauffeur's uniform, with a little starched cylindrical hat set jauntily on his head. Ever since they had met at the Akai no Ryuu meetings, Kagome and him had been good friends. He relied on her for new ideas, she relied on him for advice. Him being gay, Kagome didn't have any problems talking to him. "Did you know, I've always wanted your hair, it's so silky!! You -must- tell me how you manage to still keep it like that everyday!!"  
  
"One day, Ja-kun, one day. But what are you doing here?" Kagome showed him in. "It's still messy, but come in, come in!"  
  
"Well, I drive a limo for Sesshoumaru now. I was sent here to pick you two up. . ." explained Jakotsu, walking in and taking off his shoes.  
  
"But I don't remember. . . ." Kagome began. ~Oh, this is probably part of Inuyasha's surprise. . .or whatever it is. . . .~ "Nevermind. So, when did you start chauffeuring for Sesshoumaru-san?"  
  
Jakotsu opened his mouth to answer, but Inuyasha walked out of his room, completely distracting him. Inuyasha had managed to unearth a black suit and an only slightly creased crimson button-up shirt. His hair he left, not caring about his ears for once. The top three buttons he couldn't be bothered doing up, so if have him a slightly rugged look.  
  
"Well. . . I. . .Ryuu. . . ." Jakotsu's mouth moved, but barely any sound came out. He didn't take his eyes off Inuyasha until Kagome cleared her throat loudly. "Ah! Oh, yes, um. . . what was the question?"  
  
"He's taken, Ja-kun," said Kagome sternly, and gave him an 'I-don't-need-to- tell-you-twice' sort of look.  
  
"U-Un! Anyway, there's no time for idle chat, we must get going!" Jakotsu quickly left the room, putting on his shoes on the way out. Kagome smiled and followed, dragging Inuyasha behind her.  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*At the restaurant*^~*^~*^~^*~  
  
Kagome climbed out of the silver limo and stared speechlessly at the restaurant that Sesshoumaru owned. It was probably the biggest one in the Tokyo district, which made it so expensive. Land was getting harder and harder to find these days.  
  
There were glass double doors, flanked with a pair of girls, which was rare because they usually station elevators, not entrances. Above the door was a black marble tablet, with the characters for "Hoshiosora" inscribed in gold lettering on it. On the second story was about 6 or so balconies. ~Probably with Seperation spells, so the noise from the other balconies doesn't carry over as much. . . ~ Kagome thought knowledgably. ~but he should really be more careful about using that stuff near humans. . . .~  
  
"Irasshai!" chirped the girls as they passed by them. Kagome gave one of them a friendly smile to show that they weren't unthought of. Once they stepped through the doors, they were greeted by a girl about Kagome's age, dressed neatly in a classy waitress uniform.  
  
"Komban wa. Minna-sama, Hoshiosora e irasshai. Onamae wa, onegai shimasu?" [--Good evening. Everyone, Welcome to Hoshiosora. What is your name, please?] The girl bowed respectfully before Kagome could get a good look at her face, but she knew that voice well enough.  
  
"Sango-chan?" Kagome asked curiously and surprised. The girl looked up.  
  
"Kagome-chan?" It -was- Sango!  
  
"What are you doing here?!" squealed Kagome, delightfully surprised.  
  
"I work here as a waitress, Sesshoumaru-san hired me a few days ago; Miroku- kun recommended me to him." Sango looked different, dressed in a short pleated skirt. She looked a lot more feminine than usual. Kagome wondered whether it was Miroku's idea to give her that skirt.  
  
"Ah Kagome-san! You're as pretty as always!" Sesshoumaru appeared on the scene, dressed in a crisp black suit. He, too, was as handsome as ever. "Come, your table awaits."  
  
"^^!! Sesshoumaru-san!" Kagome was happy to the point of exploding. So many old friends! Sango was secretly envious. Not only was she about to get proposed to, but she was greeted by the maitre de [KC11: dunno how to spell it] -AND- she got one of the balcony tables!  
  
"Meh." Inuyasha was attracting a lot of strange looks, because of his ears.  
  
Sesshoumaru twitched slightly at the sight of his brother with uncovered ears, but smiled all the same. "Come, come!"  
  
Kagome was grinning from ear to ear as Sesshoumaru led them to a beautiful balcony, with a single table set in the middle of it. Rose vines wove around the white balustrades, with little twinkling lights adorned about them.  
  
"May I take your order?" Sango handed the both menus. It all looked so delicious and expenisive, so Kagome wasn't sure what to get, but luckily Sango was there to help them decide. In the end they ended up getting a steak each. Sango wasn't satisfied. "Are you sure? There's a lot more to choose from, and its on the house too, so. . ."  
  
"Its alright, I'm not that hungry anyway," Kagome handed her Menu back to her and she hurried off to the kitchens. Then Kagome noticed, out of the corner of her eye, Inuyasha staring at her nervously. "Nandayo?" she asked, taking a sip from her glass of water.  
  
"Eto. . . . . be-betsuni . . . . . ." Inuyasha averted his gaze towards the glass of water in front of him.  
  
"Ne," Kagome set her glass back down and looked inquiringly at him. "Isn't this all a bit much, you know? Just for moving in?"  
  
~Now's your chance!!!~ screamed Inuyasha's mind.  
  
"Uh. . .um. . .well. . . . . ." Inuyasha's mouth was suddenly dry. "Y. . .You're wearing the necklace I gave you. . . .ha ha. . ."  
  
~BAKAA!!!!!!!!!!~ Inuyasha mentally kicked himself. Kagome was frowning at him. ~Oh great, now what?!~  
  
"Yes. . .I am. . . . ." Kagome said slowly, getting more confused by the second.  
  
"W-well. . . Uh. . ." he gulped.  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*switch scene to rooftop*^~*^~*^~*^~  
  
"Should I go save him?" Sango asked Sesshoumaru. The two were watching them from the rooftop, hidden in the shadows.  
  
"Yada," [--stop/no] Sesshoumaru, on the inside, was interested, but didn't want to show it. "Let's see how this works out, then you can go save him."  
  
"Oh alright. . ."  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*switch scene back to Inuyasha and Kagome*^~*^~*^~*^~  
  
"I. . . Um. . ." Inuyasha's thoughts suddenly went into overdrive, and they all tried to get out at once. "Thisiskindawierdandiwasn'tsurehowiwassupposedtoaskyouthisbutireallylikeyoua ndiwantyoutobehappyeventhoughi'mnothebestpersontokeepyouhappyandeverythingbu tihopethatyousayyestothequestioni'mabouttoaskyoucozi'dbereallydisappointedif yousaidnoandi'dprobablysinkintoadepressionanddiefromabrokenheartbut. . . . " Inuyasha took a calming breath. "That's not the only piece of jewellery that you'll be wearing tonight that's from me. . . "  
  
Kagome sat there, on her Italian-imported seat, stunned. What was going on? Not the only piece of jewellery from him that she'd be wearing tonight?  
  
"K. . . . Kame-chan. . .?" Inuyasha reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, black, velvet box. She froze as Inuyasha got up from his seat and knelt down beside her. "W. . . will you marry me?"  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*A few years later. . . . .*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~  
  
"Uaaaah. . . . Otou-sama really asked you like that?" Sokari Marekete was lying on the rug in front of the fire with her Okaa-chan, propped up on her elbows and listening intently.  
  
"Yep! And you know what I said?" Kagome looked down happily at her first daughter.  
  
"Eto. . . .Shiranai. . . . ." [--I dunno. . .]Sokari rolled over onto her back innocently. She had inherited her father's white dog-ears and sulky pout.  
  
"I said yes of course! If I hadn't, you would have never been born!" Kagome tapped Sokari on the nose. The little girl scrunched up her face and twitched her hanyou ears. "And 5 months later, we got married at the shrine, an lived happily ever after! Ah! Look at the time! Come on, let's get you to bed already."  
  
"Mama, is it true that Kouga-san nearly killed Otou-sama when he found out?" asked Sokari, as Kagome ushered her up the stairs.  
  
"Haha. . . sort of. . .he was very upset either way," Kagome opened the door to Sokari's bedroom and the little hanyou ran in, jumping onto her bed. ~Just like Rin,~ Kagome thought nostalgically.  
  
"Ne, Mama," Sokari grabbed a brush from her beside table and handed it to Kagome. She then turned around so that Kagome could brush her raven black hair, inherited from her Okaachan. It was a strange mix, white dog ears and black hair, but at least it was easier to explain than having silver hair. "Do you think I'll ever someone like that?"  
  
Kagome stop brushing Sokari's hair, and turned her around. She smiled at her, unsure of what to say. Society was getting more strict on what 'normal' would be considered as; it was hard enough that Sokari was part youkai, but to find someone that would love her, not fear her, seemed almost impossible.  
  
Yet, Kagome just couldn't bring herself to say 'no' so such an angelic face like Sokari's, so full of blind faith, of hope. Instead, Kagome contented herself with scratching Sokari behind the ears.  
  
"Sokari-chan, I don't think you will." Kagome hugged her daughter close to her and smiled as she said;  
  
"I know you will."  
  
~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*|*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~*^~  
  
Ya-tai! Owari desu~![--yay! ended!] Stay tuned for my next fic, comin soon! Title is undecided, but I'm sure I'll think of sumthin soon~ For now, Ja ne! 


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